DECEMBER 3, 2021
mississippicatholic.com
U.S. bishops spotlight programs on Eucharist, young people, moms in need BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
wider limits on where money would be invested. The guidelines advance a polBALTIMORE – The U.S. bishops icy of engagement on corporate practicspotlighted two major initiatives foes that impact human dignity. cused on the central role of the EuchaThe prelates, meeting in person for rist Nov. 17, the second of two days of a national gathering for the first time public sessions of their fall general assince 2019, also approved guidelines sembly. for the exposition of the Eucharist and The U.S. Conference of Catholic Benediction, affirmed sainthood causes Bishops approved a 26-page statement, for three U.S. laypeople, approve revi"The Mystery of the Eucharist in the sions of statutes for the catechumenate Life of the Church," with 222 "yes" and voted for revised English- and votes, and also OK'd plans for a threeSpanish-language editions of the Order year National Eucharistic Revival that of Christian Initiation of Adults. will culminate with the National EuchaThe bishops assigned a feast date ristic Congress 2024 in Indianapolis. to St. Teresa of Kolkata – Sept. 5, the On other matters, they were invitdeath date in 1997 for the founder of ed to take a multicultural journey with the Missionaries of Charity. It will be an young Catholics to Chicago next June; optional memorial on the U.S. liturgical were urged to implement a framework calendar. for marriage and family ministry that Their vote on the Eucharist statethey had approved at their spring assembly in June; agreed to begin review Bishops attend a Nov. 16, 2021, session of the fall general assembly of the U.S. ment came a day after their discussion of the "Charter for the Protection of Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is of the document – a discussion that was markedly different than their debate in Children and Young People" earlier the first in-person bishops' meeting since 2019. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) June about what it could potentially than planned; and heard how the pandemic may have slowed but not stopped a pro-life initiative called "Walking With contain, namely a call for President Joe Biden and Catholic politicians who support abortion to be denied Communion. But the final document had nothing like that and Moms in Need." They approved guidelines governing the USCCB's financial investments that include – Continued on page 6 –
The U.S. has no Black Catholic saints. Could a future one be buried in Memphis? BY KATHERINE BURGESS MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL
MEMPHIS – She wore African dress, began by singing, preached on what it meant to be Black and Catholic in America — and Sister Thea Bowman ended her 1989 speech to the U.S. Catholic Bishops by convincing the bishops to stand and sing with her. “They always say that was her first miracle. She got the bishops to dance,” said Sister Charlene Smith, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration who was friends with Bowman for 35 years. There are currently no Black U.S. saints in the Catholic Church, although six are being considered for canonization. Bowman is one of those six, and if she’s canonized, a Black Catholic saint known for her radiant personality and her advocacy for racial reconciliation will be buried in Memphis, less than three hours from her childhood home in Canton, Mississippi. In 2018, Bowman was declared a “Servant of God,” the title given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause is still under investigation, prior to being declared “Venerable.” Born in 1937 in Canton, Mississippi, to a physician and a teacher, Bertha Elizabeth Bowman converted to
Catholicism at nine years old after being taught by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. At 15 years old she told her parents she wanted to go to Wisconsin to join the Franciscan Sisters — and started a hunger strike when her parents told her she wasn’t going. She won the argument, and soon became the first Black member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. It was there that she met Smith, who entered the convent about the same time. Both wanted to be teachers and majored in English,
taking classes together. Today, Smith has written a book about Bowman. Entering religious life, Bowman was given the name “Sister Mary Thea” in honor of the Virgin Mary and Bowman’s father, Theon Bowman. Embracing 'Blackness and Catholicism as gifts from God' Later, Bowman would work as a teacher, becoming “a highly acclaimed evangelizer, teacher, writer, and singer sharing the joy of the Gospel and her rich cultural – Continued on page 7 –
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Quo Vadis II 4 Father Nick Adam reflects on the latest retreat
From the archives 13 Journey into diocese history with Mary Woodward
Youth 14 Youth pictures from around the diocese
