Coming quickly upstairs, Brother Nicolas found Claver on the floor, having passed from this life to the next. Peter Claver was a man with a mission. The dignified old man appeared, wearing a long white beard, and Claver, having been apprised of the customary signs of English protocol, saluted the prelate with much respect and offered a toast to his health. And then, worse than the slave owners, were the slave traders themselves, hardened speculators in human flesh, who mercilessly hunted down their merchandise, like animals, along the equatorial African coasts and islands that they might auction them off at a handsome profit across the sea. Africa was literally exploding in violence. Furthermore, he did not lose sight of his converts when they left the ships, but followed them to the plantations to which they were sent, encouraged them to live as Christians, and prevailed on their masters to treat them humanely. Europeans and their ways, even their religion, met with suspicion and, in instances, outright hostility among some of the natives of the New World. Furthermore, their own chiefs, who showed absolutely no concern for a common hue when material gain was offered to them, often betrayed the Negroes. Most of the more difficult inmates were pirates or sailors who ended up their profligate careers afoul of the law in the golden city of the Indies, although the local element of Spaniards and slaves contributed a fair share to the hands of justice. Daily his loving eyes would have to wrest their gaze from the Spotless Host lest he should allow his devotion to get the better of him. Permission was not at first granted and Claver was ordered instead to return to the college at Barcelona for more study in theology. This army was a militia of charity; its commander-in-chief was Father Peter Claver, a Jesuit, the hero of our story. Sitting on a rock, he would put his cloak over their shoulders, if it was cold, and hear their confessions. When a language was unuasually remote, Father Peter would have to speak through a chain of five or six interpreters to get across his message. However, the consideration of the problem of his wife and family, who would resent the temporal loss that would go with his renouncing of the Church of England, prevented the weak man from doing his duty to God right away, though he did promise to do so before he died. In all, Sandoval had baptized over thirty thousand slaves; his successor would baptize over three hundred thousand.His face aglow with a supernatural joy, Father Peter would board the slave ship while it was anchored in the harbor, and with the help of his interpreters he would greet the suffering newcomers. The Sisters of St Peter Claver were founded by Blessed Theresa Ledchowska. February 17th 1937 was a day upon which a miracle happened. Suddenly the girl who had been dead sat up and vomited a large quantity of blood. The doctors recognized such a miracle and it was later authenticated by the Vatican in 1887, leading to Peter Claver's canonization in 1888. Father Claver was also in particular demand to minister to condemned criminals, and it is said that no one was executed at Cartagena during Clavers lifetime without Claver being present to console the man; under Clavers influence the most hardened and defiant would spend their last hours in prayer and sorrow for their sins. Give your warning sign if danger is near so that I may stop while the path is clear. He became the prophet and miracle worker of New Granada, the oracle of Cartagena, and all were convinced that often God would not have spared the city save for him. To the cynical mind the trust of this extraordinary priest in the goodness of human nature must have seem nave and no doubt could he have known he would have been far more often disappointed than not. Thousands pressed forward to touch their Rosaries, linens, and medals to his hands and to his feet, which were left uncovered. Standing out as one of the more stupendous of Father Clavers miracles was the affair of the raising of the slave-girl Agustina, who served one of the good padres closest friends, Captain de Villalabos. He shortly afterwards heard the confession of Doa Isabella, and told her it was for the last time, and on September 6, after assisting at Mass and receiving holy communion, Claver said to his dear friend, Brother Nicholas Gonzalez, I am going to die. That same evening he was taken very ill and became comatose. So great was Clavers love for Tunga that he was prompted upon his deathbed to confer upon that monasterys novices his greatest treasure- the spiritual writings of good Brother Alonso- which he has guarded jealously though his arduous life. Often the skin on the backs and shoulders of those too weak to help themselves would be worn to the very bone from the constant motion of the waves and rubbing of their flesh on the damp planks.Apparently these slave hustlers were the very dregs of Christian Europe. He would then wash them with his own hands and dress their wounds with medicines that he previously begged for in the market place. In fact, two Popes, Pius I and Callistus I, had at one time been slaves. The resident Jesuits, despite the utter poverty of their quarters, gave their newly arrived brothers a hearty welcome, and immediately afterwards Claver was summoned up the Magdalena River to the capital city of Santa Fe de Bogota to finish his theology. Why? St. Peter Claver. When we approached their quarters, we thought we were entering another Guinea. 36 St Peter Claver by Shining Light Dolls published on 2019-09-08T23:42:20Z. Sometimes the Mother of God herself appeared to certain of the infidels to rebuke them for not listening to Father Claver. #BreakingNews Housekeeper's Husband Admits to Murder of Beloved Catholic Bishop David O'Connell of Los Angeles, California, Prayer to St. Christopher for Safe Travels and Motorists, #BreakingNews a Catholic Priest and 3 Nuns Killed in a Car Accident in India - RIP, Pope Francis Explains how to Defeat the Devil's 3 Temptations "The divine Word that is Jesus answer to the temptation of the devil. Well, the good influence proved too much. Into these yards Peter Claver plunged with medicines and food, bread, brandy, lemons, tobacco to distribute among them, some of whom were too frightened, others too ill to accept them. St. Peter Claver Sterling Silver Oval Pendant, Practical Practice of Fasting with Fr Dwight Longenecker, 10 important things to consider during Lent, The Happy Priest on Lent, Happiness and the Call to Selfless Love, Daily Readings for Tuesday, February 28, 2023, St. Hilary, Pope: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, February 28, 2023, Lenten Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Monday, February 27, 2023. Though there was a time when his fellow Jesuits criticized Father Claver for his childlike methods of catechetics, nevertheless, for the childlike slaves, the basic-ness of Claver usually hit its mark fast. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. St Peter is known as the "Apostle to the Slaves." Tellingly, she named it after the Jesuit who tried to alleviate the suffering of African slaves transported to South America in the early seventeenth century, is estimated to have personally baptised around 300,000 people, and became the patron saint of slaves and seafarers. Some of their fellow countryman insulted both the converts and the priests, but the good Fathers patience and obvious holiness soon won them. St. Peter Claver. So Claver gave it none- except what was absolutely necessary to sustain life. Many of the lepers could not speak at all; they could only look at him, if they had eye, and touch the tears on his cheeks while they moaned some sort of guttural, Thank you.. Sometimes two men chained together would be from warring tribes, and horrifying scenes of rage would take place. Claver enlisted bands of assistants, cajoling these people whether by money, goods or services, and as soon as a slave ship entered the port Claver dropped everything and went to wait on its living freight. The magnificent Main Altar is the result of a pledge made by grateful parishioners who made a promise to St. Joseph. How beautifully did his words echo on their souls as he spoke to them of the infinite value of their cross if only they should bear it with joy and patience. In truth, it was a blessed form of servitude for those eighteen Negroes. Silently, with watery eyes, they picked up the saint and laid him to rest.Months later, a certain Mohammedan whom Father Claver had spent years trying to convert, walked into the Jesuit Church where the body of the saint lay in repose, and falling down before the Saints remains, shed tears of sorrow and promised to enter the true Church. In all things he tried to imitate our holy Brother Alonso Rodriguez. A saint, a very great saint was in the formation. Claver greeted sinners and even served them. We had to force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick. For two months, the slaves endured a fate worse than that of animals- hanging onto a life that seemed not worth the effort to preserve it- half dead, half insane, and reeking in the filth of their dysentery, vomit, and running ulcerous wounds. As one biographer put it, Like the Cid, even the dead corpse of Claver conquers the Moors.. Until death, he was politely told. When he is starved, he is dumb. Claver was buried in the floor off the sacristy of the chapel of the Jesuit residence. Facilitating this trafficking in human cargo was the reasoning that blacks were in most if not all instances culturally and essentially inferior. He was unable to take a step. The saint made it so simple for their confused and despairing consciences that not one of Cartagenas condemned criminals went to his execution unrepentant. Thank God, that for Father Claver the Church had her seasons and Lent didnt last forever! He encouraged those masters who were good Catholics to look after the spiritual as well as the bodily well-being of the Negroes. On this pilgrimage, something must have moved him very deeply as he knelt before the miraculous statue, for in later years, if anyone even mentioned the Virgin of Montserrat, he would be unable to withhold his tears, so overwhelming was his love for her. But it would be inaccurate to label Father Claver as some kind of humanitarian. He was too busy loving to worry about hating. Doa Isabella and her sister remained faithful to him, and his old helper, Brother Nicholas Gonzalez, visited him when he could. He was beatified 16 July, 1850, by Pius IX, and canonized 15 January, 1888, by Leo XIII. The dead man had assured him that he and his converted fellow countrymen were saved only because they had abandoned their errors and embraced the Catholic religion. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. RIVERVIEW QLD 4303 College Reception Hours. His labors in the confessional for the holy season would increase threefold. In youth his piety and love of study won general admiration, and every preferment was open to him, but zeal for his neighbor's salvation led . (Fakhri B. Maluf, Ph.D.), RIP Prior: Brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M. After he had performed the sacred ceremony to the great joy of the young Negress and the whole household, she instantly dozed off in death to retrace the steps she had previously taken, this time clothed in the proper wedding garment. At the age of twenty he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona. It would be a tangent too labor-some for the continuity of this article to demonstrate at any length how forcefully and wisely the Catholic Church has handled the slavery problem throughout its history. Saint made it so simple for their confused and despairing consciences that not one of Cartagenas condemned criminals went his... 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