All her life, Hilda Wiltz has been preparing to assume leadership of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary. In July, that dream became reality when the 63-year-old Rayne native was sworn in as the 15th Supreme Lady of the Catholic fraternal organization’s women auxiliary. Founded in the early 1900s, the Ladies Auxiliary has more than 8,000 women members across the United States, with courts in South America and Africa, as well as four collegian units, including Xavier University and Southern University. Read More

From BlackCatholicMessenger.com: Up the parkway from Washington, a different kind of election took place on Tuesday at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott Hotel, where Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville was elected chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. The ballot was one of several for committee positions in the USCCB, which was holding the first of two livestreamed public sessions during its fall general assembly. The domestic justice chair is currently held by Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Read More

n this interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., speaks about the meaning of synodality, the Church’s mission, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church today. By Christopher Wells Synodality, says Cardinal Wilton Gregory, “is the effort of people listening to one another and believing that the Holy Spirit is prompting those conversations, that the Holy Spirit is the one who plants the hopes, the dreams, the fears... And in the midst of those conversations, I think synodality means that out of those conversations will come a vision and a wisdom that will open up the horizons for tomorrow.” Speaking with Vatican News on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the Synod, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., highlighted both the diversity and the atmosphere of the ecclesial gathering. Read More

DetroitCatholic.com — Forty years ago, 10 Black bishops from the United States wrote a letter to African-American Catholics that has reverberated ever since. On Sept. 15, Black Catholics from the Archdiocese of Detroit gathered at the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit to revisit and celebrate the groundbreaking pastoral letter, "What We Have Seen and Heard," and discuss its implications for the U.S. Church today. Published on Sept. 9, 1984, the landmark document focused on evangelization, calling on the Black Catholic community in the United States to be missionaries amongst themselves and share their gifts, culture and faith at large. Read More

BlackCatholicMessenger.com - The Diocese of Jackson has published an update on the canonization cause of Servant of God Thea Bowman, one of seven African Americans currently on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church. The information was released in the diocese’s newspaper on Sept. 9 in response to a request from Jackson’s Director of Catholic Schools, Karla Luke. Bowman’s canonization cause, begun in 2018 by Bishop Joseph Kopacz, received approval from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops the same year and has since involved research on her life and work. This is part of the diocesan phase of the process, which for Bowman is reportedly halfway complete. Read More

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – The Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary (KPCLA) is proud to announce the election of Most Esteemed Hilda L. Wiltz as the new Supreme Lady. A distinguished member of the Knights of Peter Claver for 38 years, Supreme Lady Wiltz hails from Rayne, Louisiana, affectionately known as the “Frog Capital of the World.” Throughout her illustrious tenure with KPCLA, Supreme Lady Wiltz has demonstrated unwavering dedication and leadership. She has been a member of the Meritorious 4th Degree Ladies of Grace for 27 years and has held various significant roles within the organization. Most recently, she has served as the Vice Supreme Lady as well as the National Lay Board Member. Her exceptional contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the 2021 KPCLA Silver Medal of Merit Award and the 2022 Cartagena Award. Read More

(OSV News) — A historically Black Catholic fraternal organization is growing — and its members are drawing strength from the Eucharist to live out the Gospel message, said its top leader. The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary holds its annual senior national conclave and convention July 19-24 in Oklahoma City, a gathering that will unite members, young and old, to discern the coming year’s charitable and spiritual initiatives for the organization. Founded in 1909 by four priests of the St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart, the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary work to further the legacy of St. Peter Claver, who ministered to enslaved people from Africa in Cartagena, Colombia, during the 17th century. The Jesuit priest routinely met docking ships to provide food, medical aid and spiritual instruction to them, ultimately baptizing an estimated 300,000 over four decades. Through their charitable arm, the St. Peter Claver Foundation, the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary award thousands of dollars in donations to Catholic seminaries and outreaches, and in scholarships to students. Read More

Father Norman Fischer, a Catholic priest who ministered to hundreds of Lexingtonians from St. Peter Claver Church and as chaplain at Lexington Catholic High School, died on July 14 while traveling out of state. Parishioners and friends said they were in a state of shock partly because he was so young. He would have turned 51 on Aug. 20. Read More