Ohio symposium to celebrate Black Catholic bishops' 1984 pastoral letter

Registration is now open for the 40th anniversary symposium honoring the Catholic pastoral document “What We Have Seen and Heard: A Pastoral Letter on Evangelization from the Black Bishops of the United States,” to be held at the University of Dayton from November 22-24.

The event will feature keynote lectures and workshops on Black Catholic liturgy and culture, as well as a Sunday Mass celebrated in Cincinnati by Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington. That liturgy will take place on the feast of Christ the King—the 20th anniversary of the death of Black Catholic liturgy pioneer Fr Clarence Rivers.

“We have amazing investment and support from both the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton,” said co-organizer Emily Strand, who is collaborating with Dcn Royce Winters of Cincinnati, Dr. Cecilia Moore of the University of Dayton, Fr Thomas DiFolco, and the well-known liturgist Rawn Harbor.

“Speakers will focus their presentations on marking the 40th anniversary of ‘What We Have Seen and Heard’ and the history and legacy of Black Catholic liturgical expression, which of course will include lots of talk about Fr Rivers.”

The keynote speakers include Gregory; Dr. Kim Harris of Loyola Marymount University; Bishop Emeritus Edward Braxton of Belleville; and Fr Joseph A. Brown, SJ of Southern Illinois University.

The event theme centers around the letter authored by the “first 10” Black Catholic bishops in the United States, a group that included Gregory himself during his time as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“Inspired by the Holy Spirit, our aim in this pastoral letter was on evangelization and it was twofold: to testify to our own community and to educate our fellow Americans,” Gregory said in a video message released on Aug. 29.

“Over these 40 years, we have made great strides celebrating our shared gifts, through prayer as our foundation and guided by God's hand.”

In June, he hosted a Gospel liturgy at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington commemorating the first official English Mass in the United States, which featured music from Fr Rivers.

“It was Cardinal Gregory who celebrated the Mass for the 60th anniversary of [Rivers’] 'An American Mass Program,' singing music that had not been heard for over 20 years,” said Rawn Harbor at a July event honoring Rivers at the 2024 Institute for Black Catholic Studies in New Orleans.

Rivers, who died on Nov. 21, 2004, was ordained in 1956 as the first Black Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He later pioneered in bringing Black musical and other liturgical stylings to the Catholic Mass following the Second Vatican Council, and was also a noted theologian, artist, and writer.

The Black bishops’ letter, released on Sept. 9, 1984, during the Black Catholic Movement, is notable for its bold proclamation of an Afrocentric Christian narrative in the United States and beyond. Gregory is among three of the letter’s signatories who are still living. The deceased include, among others, Harold R. Perry, SVD, the first African-American Catholic bishop in the modern era; Joseph Howze, the first African-American Catholic ordinary; and Eugene Marino, SSJ, the first African-American archbishop.

“It is our hope that the wisdom in the pastoral letter is not forgotten, and that we build a future on the extraordinary efforts of our elders,” reads an event description for the symposium.

The Christ the King Mass with Cardinal Gregory will be held on Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati and is open to the public. Registration for the other sessions is $150 and can be completed online. Discounted hotel rates are also available.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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