With the establishment of Black Catholic History Month in 1990, November became a mark of remembrance for the African American leaders whose stories are too often left out of American textbooks.
Dating back to the 15th century, Black Catholics have been integral in building and shaping the world as it stands today, establishing a lifelong mission of service and commandment that Father Patrick Smith deems especially critical in 2025.
“Especially in the society we see now, a renewed attack on Black American history … more than ever, people need heroes that look like them,” said Father Smith, pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Northwest D.C. “You can’t tell the story of Catholicism in the United States without telling the story of Black Catholics. We were there from the beginning.”
Thanks to the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus — who established the observance 35 years ago — Black Catholics have been celebrating all month, honoring the sacredness of Nov. 1 (All Saints Day), Nov. 2 (All Souls Day), Feast of St. Martin de Porres on Nov. 3, and more, in tandem with community legacies of resistance and leadership.
But beyond moments of tribute, Father Robert Boxie, priest chaplain of Howard University, touts a foundation for year-round stewardship and changemaking, reminding all Catholic leaders to exceed memorializing and strive to be emulators.
“We should take our marching orders every November … and it should inspire us to to do the work that we are called to do: uplifting our community people, taking care of those in need … [and] do that in a way that highlights the gifts of the Black community,” Boxie told The Informer, “the joy, the holisticness, the song and dance and the richness, [and put] that into into action as men and women of faith.”
Catholic Leaders Tout Year-Round Mission, ‘Set the Record Straight’
For the scholar-led Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University, the instilled values of its namesake and Catholicism overall is kept alive throughout the whole year — from wall decor revering ancestors, to masses and discussions spiriting her name.
Driven by a purpose to inspire youth, Boxie, who serves as chaplain of the Northwest center, told The Informer honoring African American Catholics does more than preserve histories — it lays the building blocks for tomorrow’s changemakers.
“When we tell these stories, our students can identify with these holy men and women,” he explained, “and…given that they can see themselves in them, that just opens up a whole door of possibility that had been unknown to them beforehand.”
Father Boxie, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, touted the historic leadership of several predecessors that shaped American progress.
To name a few: Diane Nash, instrumental during the sit-ins and Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights Movement; Father Augustus Colton, the first Black priest recognized in 1886; and Venerable Pierre Toussaint, one of several in line to become a Saint through canonization, who’s credited with founding the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of New York.
As for the late Bowman, the priest chaplain lauded her instrumental work in racial justice that “brought forth the beauty of Black Catholicism,” including co-founding the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically Black Catholic school in the nation.
“All of this reminds [us] … that we are here, we are present. We are part of this global church,” Boxie added, “and we have something important and beautiful and wonderful to contribute.”
He went on to highlight his own connection to faith stems from an upbringing that fueled religious values with diasporic traditions, demonstrating how the Black Catholic experience “combines the best of everything.”
“It taps into all those aspects of … who I understand God to be … and who I am as a Black man,” Boxie said, later calling on a similar approach to reach youth. “We have to present the gospel in a way that is attractive to students, that meets young people where they are, that speaks to their needs and is also authentic.”
Having grown up in a multi-generational Catholic family in D.C., Smith had his own revelation when he realized his future wasn’t a matter of what he wanted to do with his life, but rather “what God wanted me to do.”
As a sophomore at Maryland’s Mount St. Mary’s College (now University) at the time, the pastor recognized a desire to understand, and more importantly, be able to defend “why I believe what I believe” — something both faith leaders stress is instrumental to the work.
“The mission we have [today] is a mission Jesus gave the Apostles: ‘go and make disciples, teach them when I command you, baptize them, teach them as I commanded you,’” Smith told The Informer. “We’re all here for a reason, but only for a season. And so 2025 is our season to… [invest] and [do] our part to carry out the Great Commission.”
Smith reflected on the resilient subjects that built the Saint Augustine Catholic School in Northwest D.C., in 1858, and the converted African Americans who helped found the nation’s oldest city — St. Augustine, Florida — and first freed Black town in the U.S., Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose.
To him, that foundation for freedom lives through descending stewards around the world, and particularly in D.C., who work to “set the record straight” and continue the story that began with African American heroes and heroines.
In the meantime, Boxie considers the role of today’s leaders to be investing in the young people “hungry” for belonging and purpose, as well as continuing the pursuit for justice and bringing about “the Kingdom of God.”
Despite the month coming to a close, he emphasizes that shaping a better world is a year-round effort, and the Black Catholics in Washington have the launchpad to get it done.
“We just have to do the work,” said the priest. “All the things that we believe, we put that into action, and that makes a true, genuine, authentic witness of being a person of faith.”