Desegregating the Altar: The Josephites and the Struggle for Black Priests, 1871-1960

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Summary: The Struggle for an African-American Priesthood
Review: Only two percent of the 60 million Roman Catholics in the United States are African-American. Although a small group, the African-American Catholic community has a long and rich history that is a mixture of sadness and triumph. In the last ten years, since the 1990 publication of Fr. Cyprian Davis' "The History of Black Catholics in the United States," a number of studies on African-American Catholicism have emerged. Some are regional in focus, others focus on the spirituality of African-American Catholics, while others offer reflections on the present situation. One of the most fascinating aspects of this history is the experience of African-American priests, which is the subject of Stephen J. Ochs' "Desegregating the Altar." Ochs focuses on the Josephites, an order of priests founded in the late 19th century to minister to the post-Civil War African-American community. The Josephites'ministry was unique for its time, but the biggest obstacle they faced was white prejudice, from Catholics as well as non-Catholics. The Josephites were sincere in their desire to further the well being of African American Catholics, but their steps towards establishing an African-American priesthood were cautious and wary. The first black Josephites faced horrid racism from their fellow Catholics, both laity and sometimes clergy. Some found the strain too much. One of these priests suffered a nervous breakdown. By the early twentieth century the Josephites had moved away from trying to create an indigenous African-American priesthood, and as a result the majority of them were white. But they never gave up the struggle, and in fact for a while the strongest encouragement they got was from Rome itself. While many white Catholics saw it as futile to oppose racism in America, Vatican authorities encouraged the formation of a black clergy. Ochs' book is an excellent study of how one group of priests tried to tackle the great American race question, and he successfully chronicles their successes and failures in this task. An excellent book that will be interest to students of religion and race.

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Summary: "Black" Catholic is ill-defined
Review: There appears to be a movement among black and liberal American Catholics to create a "black Catholic" history that rightfully belongs to multiracial Americans. Louisiana Creoles are the victims of this attempt to create "black" Catholics, but the most prominent victims are three brothers born to an Irish-American father and a mulatto mother in antebellum Georgia. James Augustine Healy was bishop of the diocese of Portland, Maine from 1875 until his death in 1900. Patrick Francis Healy served successively as professor, prefect of studies, vice-rector, and, from 1874 to 1882, as rector of Georgetown University. Alexander Sherwood Healy served as rector of Holy Cross Cathedral and, for a few months before his death in 1875, as pastor of St. James Parish in Boston. Ochs admits that the Healys did not identify with blacks but with their Irish heritage and were not considered "black" by others. Indeed, not only were the Healy brothers only one-quarter "black" and of caucasian phenotype, but it was their Irish father who reared them as Catholics and paid for the educations that allowed them to rise to such high positions in their Church. Nevertheless, hypodecent fanatics like Ochs claim that "blacks" deserve all the credit.