St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fairfield hosted a listening session with Bishop Steven Raica and the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary of Zone 4 on Nov. 15. Fathers Vernon Huguley, Philip Paxton, and Kenneth Keke participated with Diocesan Director of Black Catholic Ministry James Watts giving a presentation. Read More

Xavier University of Louisiana today announced a $38 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This transformative investment is Scott’s second major gift to Xavier and is the largest private donation in university history. She awarded Xavier $20 million in 2020 in recognition of the University’s national impact as the only historically Black and Catholic institution in the United States. Read More

On the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, urged a fraternal group of lay Catholics to remember that they are temples of the Holy Spirit. “You are God’s building,” Cardinal McElroy told the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary of Peter Claver, gathered for Mass on Nov. 8 at St. Thomas More Church in Southeast Washington, D.C. “When you hear the word of God and take it into your heart,” each human person becomes “the most important building,” he said, drawing on the words of St. Paul. Read More

OSV NEWS: In recent months, renewed attention has been given to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — a landmark piece of legislation that helped secure the right to vote for Black Americans, particularly in the South, where discriminatory practices persisted even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Supreme Court recently heard a case that will have wide implications for how the Voting Rights Act is enforced. The court has the power to preserve the kinds of protections our faith motivates us to defend and must do so. Read More

From BlackCatholicMessenger.com: The former parish administrator and longtime educator was chosen by her fellow sisters this summer and will be installed next spring. Read More

NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) — In a city renowned for its seemingly genetic ability to parade, party and partake, the 100th anniversary of Xavier University of Louisiana has focused on the gifts of faith, love and reading the signs of the times. Xavier was established in 1925 by St. Katharine Drexel on the financial strength of the multimillion-dollar inheritance she received from her Philadelphia father’s banking estate, Stories are legendary about how the socially conscious heiress — a slight but energetic nun who overcame the hostility and indifference of society and the church — established an amazing network of schools, churches and missions specifically for Blacks and Native Americans. Read More

By Lisa Dahm Hawaii Catholic Herald It’s not often that a national Catholic service organization built for the entire family arrives in the diocese. On Sept. 12, the Knights of Peter Claver Council 419 was officially established in Hawaii in a ceremony at St. Anthony Retreat Center in Kalihi, followed by a Mass the next day at 5 p.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu. Read More

Great news from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: U.S. Bishops’ Administrative Committee Approves Transition of Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism to a Permanent Subcommittee September 10, 2025 WASHINGTON – The Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved the transition of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism into a permanent subcommittee of the Conference on September 9. The new Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation will fall under the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, whose mandate includes Catholic social teaching on issues of domestic concern such as poverty, housing, the environment, criminal justice, and other challenges that often have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Read More