ROME — The ordination anniversary of Venerable Augustus Tolton, the first openly Black Catholic priest in America, was celebrated by a group of U.S. and African priests and pilgrims on Thursday at the same church where he was ordained in 1886, the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.
A commemorative Mass was conceived and led by Norbertine priest Claude Williams, an African American who serves as rector of the Collegio San Norberto in Rome. The liturgy coincided with a surge in activity in Rome due to the recent death of Pope Francis.
“What sort of deep connections might be made between these figures? One of them, I think, is that they are prophetic,” said Williams in his homily.
“Tolton, by his existence and ministry in a society which was permeated by racist practices and racist systems, communicated God’s undeniable revelation that every single human person, regardless of race or origin, is created in God’s image.”
On this day in 1886 the Venerable Servant of God Augustine Tolton was ordained a Priest of Jesus Christ in the Cathedral Basilica of Rome (St. John Lateran).
— Fr. Daren J. Zehnle (@DarenZehnle) April 24, 2025
The example of his priestly zeal still shines brightly these 139 years later. Pray for us, Father Gus! pic.twitter.com/TQseungjYu
Born into slavery in 1854, escaped with his mother to freedom as a child in Illinois, where he was raised as a Catholic and eventually sensed a call to the priesthood. However, no seminary in America would accept him for studies, occasioning his matriculation in 1880 to the Urban College in Rome.
In a metropolitan Italian setting he reported to be free of the racism he faced in his home country, Tolton was educated in theology as well as Italian. He had been schooled in philosophy, Latin, German, and Greek while still in Illinois.
At the age of 31, Tolton was ordained in Rome at the Lateran Basilica, later celebrating his first Mass the same day at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. He was then sent home to minister in America, where he served in what was then the Diocese of Alton.
Facing rampant racial and anti-Catholic bias despite his ministry successes, he eventually transferred to the Archdiocese of Chicago. There, he founded its first Black Catholic parish and died at the age of 43 from heatstroke in 1897.
“His life was beautiful and grace-filled, but it was also very stressful. He died under the weight of that burden, even though he was doing many good deeds and good works,” Williams said.
“Be that as it may, his life is—among other things—a testament to the faithfulness of God.”
Tolton’s cause for sainthood was opened in 2011 by the Archdiocese of Chicago, an effort now in partnership with the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois (where Tolton first ministered as a priest) and the Diocese of Jefferson City (where Tolton was born and enslaved). He was declared Venerable by Pope Francis in 2019.
Claims of miracles brought by Tolton’s intercession were investigated stateside by Vatican officials as recently as 2022, though the outcome is not publicly known. Should a miracle be approved, Tolton could become the first beatified African American in the Catholic Church. A second miracle would clear the way for his canonization as a saint.
Summarizing the importance of remembering Tolton as a figure of prophetic influence, Williams said his legacy will cause us to constantly recall the God who overcomes obstacles to fulfill his will of human and divine fraternity.
“Today, celebrating this anniversary, we can pray that God will make a way when there's no way,” he said.
“And with God bringing us closer and closer to himself, by way of consequence, we’ll also get closer to one another.”
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
