St. Peter Claver (1580–1654), whose memorial we celebrate today, offers a timely witness as our nation reckons anew with the enduring scourge of racism. The Catholic Church venerates St. Peter Claver as the patron saint of African Americans and slaves, but Claver himself was neither. Truer to his own biography, what might we learn from Claver, the pioneering patron of white anti-racism?[1]
Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson directs Notre Dame's Summer Service Learning Program at the Center for Social Concerns, a three-credit theology course in which students serve at parishes, schools, and non-profit organizations sponsored by Notre Dame Clubs throughout the United States. Ben earned a BA in Philosophy and a Master of Divinity, both from Notre Dame, and lives in South Bend with his wife and five children.
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Topics: communion of saints, Social Justice, Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Worker, racism, St. Peter Claver, anti-racism