Supporters of the cause for canonization of the nation’s first known Black Catholic priest gathered in South Bend in July 2025 to tell his story, to pray, and to chart a path forward.
In 1863, Augustus Tolton (1854–1897) was a nine-year-old runaway slave in the middle of a dilapidated rowboat, in the middle of the Mighty Mississippi River, in the middle of the night. His mother Martha rowed desperately to save their lives, despite having just one oar. Bullets whizzed by, fired by Confederate soldiers who—thwarted from returning them to slavery by the miraculous appearance of Union soldiers—would now rather see them dead than free. It seemed as if his life were over.
Yet, by God’s grace, Martha, Augustus, and his two young siblings passed from bondage in Missouri, a slave state, into freedom in Illinois. Freedom had been the dream of his Catholic mother and father (Peter Paul Tolton, who perished from illness soon after escaping to join the Union army and before he could return to unshackle his family). The hypocrisy of their Catholic slave masters did not blind them to the hope of freedom implicit in Catholicism: a religion that speaks of a Savior, of a Liberator, of one who brings “Good News to the poor.”
Augustus Tolton, unlikely priest
No one except God knew, but this illiterate, impoverished, fatherless refugee would one day grow fluent in Latin, German, and four other languages. He would excel in philosophy and become a master catechist. Every U.S. seminary rejected him due to racism, but that did not prevent his becoming the first known U.S. Black priest. Despite persecution by Catholics, including fellow priests, he was devoutly Catholic. Despite living in an era of extreme polarization, he would serve everyone with such love, humility, and joy that—through him—Blacks and Whites, rich and poor, Catholics and Protestants came together. He may someday become the first African American saint.
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, Augustus Tolton was one of over 4 million Blacks in the United States (roughly 3.5 million of whom, like him, had been enslaved and roughly 100,000 of whom, like him, were Catholic). The Roman hierarchy, having condemned slavery, advocated for the spiritual and material welfare of this vulnerable population; but the American episcopacy, tainted by institutional racism, resisted for years.
‘America has been called the most enlightened nation. We will see whether it deserves that honor. If the United States has never seen a Black priest, it must see one now.’
– Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni
Then, in 1883, Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni summoned all U.S. archbishops to Rome, mainly to discuss the unmet needs of Negroes. Perhaps their episcopal lethargy disturbed his spirit. Perhaps he was swayed by the holy witness of one unique seminarian. Simeoni happened to be prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith, where Augustus Tolton was preparing to serve as a missionary priest to Africa (since no U.S. seminary would consider him). Either way, on the eve of his ordination in 1886, Simeoni declared: “America has been called the most enlightened nation. We will see whether it deserves that honor. If the United States has never seen a Black priest, it must see one now.” He abruptly assigned Tolton to America—its first recognizably Black priest. Both knew the tempest and expectation for failure. Simeoni asked Tolton: “Can you drink this cup?” Tolton’s response: “Posso,” Latin for “Yes, I am able.”
Telling the story of Augustus Tolton—indelibly shaped by institutional racism and oppression of some Whites in America—also reveals God’s hand at work in the hearts of courageous White allies: Union soldiers who thwarted his return to slavery; Father Peter McGirr, an Irishman who protected his return to Catholic school and also suggested the priesthood; Sister Herlinde Sick, who laboriously tutored him; Father Herman Schaefermeyer, who mentored him; Father Michael Richardt, O.F.M., who privately prepared him at Quincy College for priestly studies.
Indeed, Tolton’s story might have languished in history if not for a White nun, Sister Caroline Hemesath, O.S.F., who encountered his legacy in the mid-1930s while teaching Black children in Chicago. She was fascinated by stories of St. Monica Parish, opened in 1891 in Chicago, and its first pastor, Father Tolton. The parish no longer existed, but Tolton’s legacy was very much alive among Chicago’s Black Catholics. She interviewed people who had known Tolton, including White philanthropist and now saint, Sister Katherine Drexel, and authored the seminal 1973 biography From Slave to Priest: A Biography of the Reverend Augustine Tolton (1854–1897) The First Black Priest of the United States. (Tolton is referred to as Augustus and Augustine.)
The Tolton Ambassadors
In 2010, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago—aware of Tolton’s documented legacy—announced that he would open Tolton’s cause for sainthood in honor of “The Year of Priests.” He named Most Reverend Joseph Perry, an African American, to serve as Postulator for the Cause. The Tolton Guild was established as the official organization for the cause. Tolton joined three other U.S. Blacks then under consideration for sainthood. Today, there are seven, but the Church has yet to canonize any U.S. Black saints.
The process of canonizing saints in the Catholic Church has four steps. First, the local bishop initiates the cause for sainthood at least five years after the person has died, and the candidate is given the title “Servant of God.” Next, the candidate is investigated to determine if they lived a life of heroic virtue. If yes, they become “Venerable” (e.g., Tolton is venerable). Then, if Rome confirms that a miracle occurred that can only be attributed to the candidate’s prayerful intercession, the candidate is deemed “Blessed.” If a second miracle is confirmed, the person is added to the official canon of saints (i.e., canonized).
In July 2014, Xavier University of Louisiana hosted a “Symposium of the Saints” to highlight the causes of all known U.S. Black saint candidates. The Institute for Black Catholic Studies livestreamed it and published the proceedings. This inspired A. Gerard Jordan, an African American transitional deacon, to find a way to have more workers in the vineyard to promote the causes, in the same spirit of the mission found in Matthew 28:19 and in the footsteps of the 72 disciples sent by Jesus in Luke 10:1–2.
Accordingly, on February 3, 2015, in Chicago, the Father Augustus Tolton Guild launched the Tolton Ambassadors Corps to help support the Tolton cause, especially through intercessory prayer for his canonization (using the official prayer composed for this purpose by Bishop Perry). The effort was assisted by Rev. A. Gerard Jordan, O.Praem., who was ordained a priest on July 9, 2016—the anniversary of Tolton’s death.
In July 2019, following the addition of five new ambassador regions, Father Gerard convened a national Tolton convocation in Chicago and invited the Tolton Society (founded in the 1970s in South Bend, Indiana) to join as a seventh ambassador region, renamed the Tolton Ambassadors of Indiana. Despite the growth, two tragedies thwarted plans for subsequent in-person annual convocations. First was the 2020 pandemic. Father Gerard convened two modest virtual convocations, on December 11, 2021, and August 13, 2022. Then came a second tragedy: the untimely passing of Father Gerard himself from COVID-19 in 2022. With this loss, an in-person 2023 convocation was canceled and a 2024 attempt to convene was unsuccessful.
When the Tolton Ambassadors of Indiana brought this situation to the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, they graciously agreed to host the Tolton Ambassadors Corp. National Convocation at Notre Dame in July 2025. With support from the Cushwa Center and other campus units like the McGrath Institute, the University has similarly lifted up other Black Catholic organizations. In 2022, in the wake of the pandemic, the University hosted the annual joint conference of the national organizations for Black Catholic clergy, women religious, deacons, and seminarians.
The University has another connection to Father Tolton. Bishop Perry relates an oral tradition according to which Notre Dame students some decades ago brought special equipment to help locate the anonymous graves of slaves buried on a plantation in Brush Creek, Missouri. They conferred a bit of dignity by planting white crosses with the word “unknown” over their graves—a stark contrast to the ornate grave markers of Whites nearby. This happened to be the plantation from which Tolton’s family narrowly escaped. Had they stayed, anonymity in a slave graveyard would likely have been their destiny, too.
The convocation at Notre Dame from July 7 to 9, 2025, was a success, drawing in nearly 30 ambassadors, including Bishop Perry. Seven of the organization’s nine regions sent ambassadors: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, the District of Columbia, Indiana (South Bend), Louisiana, and Missouri. (The two other regions are California and Philadelphia.) July 9 was a meaningful day to conclude, as the anniversary of Tolton’s death and his likely feast day if canonized. The convocation theme, “Let’s Talk About Him!” was inspired by Matthew 28:19–20.
Participants recommitted to the four tasks of Tolton Ambassadors: 1) to pray for his canonization; 2) to catechize by allowing Tolton’s example to instruct people how to live the Gospel of love even amidst the sins of racism, hypocrisy, poverty, and oppression; 3) to evangelize by sharing Tolton’s life story to inspire Catholics and non-Catholics to enter more fully into the Catholic Church he loved; and, 4) to support the cause financially.
Prayer, the most important task, permeated the convocation—from daily Mass to a Tolton novena—all benefitting from the prestigious Catholic setting. Ambassadors also engaged in catechesis and evangelization with a viewing and discussion of Tolton Speaks: The Life and Letters of Fr. Augustus Tolton, a new biopic by Stella Maris Films. It integrates expert interviews, historical documents, and dramatic readings of Tolton’s own letters to allow audiences to hear his inspirational story in his own words.
Other convocation highlights included Mass at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart and at South Bend’s St. Augustine, a historically African American parish; regional progress reports; a special tribute to the late Father Gerard; a visit to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana to honor Tolton’s legacy of service to the poor; and the induction of new ambassadors at the closing Mass.
Pray and work
Convening the Tolton Ambassadors at the University of Notre Dame, in some respects, served as an invitation to further scholarship on Venerable Augustus Tolton and the U.S. Black Catholic experience. The rich tapestry of Black Catholic history beckons interdisciplinary and ecumenical collaboration. Indeed, in polarizing times, research into the enduring faith and creative spirituality of Black Catholics could benefit the Catholic Church and others. If nothing else, it could reveal the hand of God at work in the lives of holy men and women, both known and unknown, as they steadfastly bear witness to the Gospel of love even in the midst of scandal.
Meanwhile, the four tasks of Tolton Ambassadors can serve as inspiration to all. The most urgent task is to pray the special prayer for his canonization that also requests his prayerful intercession to God for a healing or other special intention. Also, the Tolton Spirituality Center at the Archdiocese of Chicago can provide prayer cards, book pilgrimages to Tolton historic sites in Illinois, or book viewings of the new biopic Tolton Speaks.
Telling Tolton’s story can help serve as a remedy for today’s disturbing times by teaching how to bear witness to love in the presence of racism, poverty, and oppression. Multiple Tolton biographies are available, written by Caroline Hemesath, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, and Joyce Duriga. Saint Luke Productions has an inspiring one-man traveling play about Father Tolton. Anyone can learn and share the story of Tolton with a local parish, school, or one’s own children and grandchildren.
Finally, Tolton’s story is an invitation to learn about all seven Black Catholic candidates for sainthood: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Henriette Delille, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Servant of God Julia Greeley, Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, and Servant of God Martin de Porres Maria Ward, O.F.M. Conv. A good resource is Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood, edited by Michael R. Heinlein.
For more information on how to become an official Tolton Ambassador or to donate to the Father Tolton Guild, the official organization for the promotion of the cause of canonization of Father Augustus Tolton, please go to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s official Tolton canonization website: tolton.archchicago.org.
Tolton Prayer for Canonization
O God, we give you thanks for your servant and priest, Father Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful and paradoxical. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. We stand in the shadow of his ministry. May his life continue to inspire us and imbue us with that confidence and hope that will forge a new evangelization for the Church we love.
Father in Heaven, Father Tolton’s suffering service sheds light upon our sorrows; we see them through the prism of your Son’s passion and death. If it be your Will, O God, glorify your servant, Father Tolton, by granting the favor I now request through his intercession [mention your request] so that all may know the goodness of this priest whose memory looms large in the Church he loved.
Complete what you have begun in us that we might work for the fulfillment of your kingdom. Not to us the glory, but glory to you O God, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are our God, living and reigning forever and ever. Amen.
2010, Bishop Joseph N. Perry
Archdiocese of Chicago
To report any spiritual or physical favors granted through prayer in Father Tolton’s name, please write:
Office of the Cardinal
Archdiocese of Chicago
835 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Deacon Mel Tardy is associate advising professor in the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame. Ordained a permanent deacon in 2011, he serves the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend at St. Augustine Parish in South Bend.
This article appears in the fall 2025 issue of the American Catholic Studies Newsletter.