Silence gripped the hallowed walls of St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge, if ever so briefly, as Father Joshua Johnson bowed his head, perhaps saying one final prayer before delivering a homily that sparked emotion, tears and even a few chuckles.
Father Johnson’s homily highlighted the African American Mass on Aug. 20, which was celebrated by Bishop Michael G. Duca and attracted a nearly standing-room-only crowd. The Diocesan Gospel Choir provided stunning musical accompaniment that included congo drums and liturgical dancers offered a sense of sacredness at various points of the Mass.
The Office of Black Catholics sponsored the Mass, which had as its theme “Celebrating Our Catholic Faith and Culture.”
The majority of the congregation was African American, with many dressed in cultural attire, offering color, reverence and a sense of tradition to the day.
“What does it mean to be Black and Catholic in the United States of America?” asked Father Johnson. “What it means is we are the people who have been chosen by God.”
“It means we come from a land where we have had captive Africa kings, captive African queens, African princes, African princesses, African popes, monks, friars, nuns, priests and seminarians, married couples.”
He said through the years artists have often attempted to change the appearances of those saints, portraying them with blond hair and blue eyes. But Father Johnson, the pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Baton Rouge, said “we are not ashamed.”
He said today the African American community reveres their ancestors’ dark skin and dark hair.
“We proclaim Black is beautiful,” Father Johnson said, drawing approval from the crowd. “Today we come to celebrate those Black members of the body of Christ whose shoulders we stand on, who have preceded us in our walk toward eternity, have showed us the way to follow them and continue our legacy of being saints.”
Father Johnson briefly discussed the lives of many famous African or Black saints, saying the lineage is not exclusively confined to just popes but people of faith from all walks of life
He began by discussing Pope Victor I, who did not deny Christ and similar to St. Peter was murdered in Rome.
Father Johnson, the lone African American priest in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, also touched on the lives of several other Black saints and noted Black Catholics, including St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Moses the Black and St. Martin de Porres, among others.
“All of these men and women of African descent had their difficult circumstances,” he said. “They lived in environments that were not safe. They were misunderstood, rejected, abandoned, persecuted, mocked and some of them were even killed.
“But in the midst of all of their sufferings they did not focus their attention exclusively on their circumstances.”
Rather, he said, it was not so much about what they were going to be facing but more important about who they were going to be facing.
“And who they chose to face was Jesus,” he said. “They kept their eyes on the face of Jesus. And because they kept their focus on the face of Jesus they were able to listen to the voice of Jesus, inviting them to listen to him and not to (outside voices).
“They refused to let their circumstances define them or to influence the decision they were going to make to become saints.”
He said the Black community has a legacy and lineage of saints who cultivated the virtue of fortitude and continued to remain focused on the will of God.
Father Johnson said all Black Catholics are invited to continue this legacy in the current generation. He noted there are currently zero Black Saints from Louisiana or even from the United States.
“We must be the saints in our land,” he said. “We must be the saints in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. We must continue in the midst of the sufferings we will (experience) at the hands of government, families and even some of our pastors and churches.”
Father Johnson said if the African American community lives in communion with Jesus, then “we will be to the next generation what (previous generations) have been to us. We will be a group of disciples, a group of saints who remain in communion with God forever in the kingdom of heaven.”
“So what does it mean to be Black and Catholic in the United States of American in 2022? It means that we are called to be saints,” Father Johnson said to a standing ovation.
Deacon Alfred Adams, director of the Office of Black Catholics, said a “we are making a joyful moment, celebrating our cathedral, our faith and our culture. We celebrate with not just the head but the whole body.
“We stand on our ancestors. They did not complain but did what God told them to do.”