---

African American Catholics in the United States

It is estimated that African American Catholics make about 3 per cent of all Catholics in the United States.¹ Growing evidence shows that African American Catholics in the United States are becoming more and more involved in parish leadership as they strive to celebrate their Catholic and cultural heritage.


By the numbers:

• There are 3 million² African American Catholics in the United States
  
• 798³ Roman Catholic parishes are considered to be predominantly African American. Most of those continue to be on the East Coast and in the South. The further West of the Mississippi, the more likely it is to find African American Catholics immersed in multicultural parishes as opposed to predominantly African American parishes.
  
• At present there are 16 living African American bishops of whom 10 remain active.⁴
  
• Currently, six U.S. dioceses are headed by African American Bishops.⁵
  
• There are 250 African American priests in the United States, and 75 men of African descent in seminary formation for the priesthood.
  
• There are about 400 African American religious sisters and 50 religious brothers.
  
• The Black population in the United States is estimated to be just over 36 million people (13 percent of the total U.S. population).⁶
  
• By the year 2050 the Black population is expected to almost double its present size to 62 million and it will increase its percentage of the population to 16 percent.⁷
  

Vision:

The full body of Catholic bishops adopted the National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan on November 8, 1989 which provides guidance and vision for the ministry among African American Catholics.

The Bishops’ Committee on African American Catholics was presented in 2002 the National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan of Action, resulting from Congress IX. The Plan of Action embraces eight priorities with a corresponding set of action steps to respond to each of them. The priorities defined in the Plan are: spirituality, parish life, youth and young adults, Catholic education, social justice, racism, Africa.


Relevant events in recent years:

African American Catholics have traditionally gathered nationally through the Black Catholic Congress. The first Congress took place in Washington, in 1889 at St. Augustine parish. It met five times. Significantly, it was the first national gathering of lay Catholics in the United States, 11 months before a general lay Catholic congress was held in Baltimore. However the fifth congress was the last for nearly 93 years.

The next Black Catholic Congress was not held until May 1987 at Catholic University in Washington. Some 1,500 Black Catholics from 108 dioceses attended the Congress under the sponsorship of the Black Catholic bishops of the United States, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, the Black Sisters Conference, The National Association of Black Catholic Administrators and the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver. The priorities decided at the congress were evangelization of “un-churched” Blacks, study of Black cultural and historical contributions to the United States, strengthening family values through the parish, training of Blacks for ministry at all levels, spiritual development, increased participation in Church decisions and financial support for Catholic schools in Black communities.

Ever since it begun meeting again in 1987, the Black Catholic Congress has met every five years to discern pastoral priorities, evaluate needs and achievements, and provide pastoral direction for the following five years. The last Congress met recently -- July 15-17, 2007-- in Buffalo. To the seven priority areas stated in the 2002, the Congress has added a new one: HIV/AIDS.

At their general meeting in November 1986 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops established a standing committee for Black Catholics and a correspondent Secretariat. Following the present re-structuring of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Secretariat for African American Catholics will cease to exist as such, and will become an office under the new Cultural Diversity in the Church Secretariat.

A relevant happening for African American Catholics in recent years was the election of Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, now Archbishop of Atlanta, as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, from 2001 to November 2004, following three years as vice-president. The occasion marked the first time that an African American bishop presided over the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference since it was established in 1966.


Addresses by the U.S Catholic Bishops to Black Catholics

The Catholic Bishops have addressed African American Catholics numerous times. Among the most important statements are the following:

• 1866 - General council (after the civil war): the bishops urged the clergy and the people to follow plans by individual bishops in their dioceses to help emancipated slaves;
  
• 1943 - In a mid-war pronouncement, they called for political equality, but also for fair economical and educational opportunities;
  
• 1958 - The statement “Discrimination and the Christian conscience,” calls the race question a “moral and religious,” one that “concerns the right of man and our attitude toward our fellow man.”
  
• 1979 - After at least five other statements on race they state in the pastoral letter Brothers and Sisters to Us they that racism is a sin “that divides the human family, blots out the image of god among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.”
  
• 1984 - The Black Catholic bishops issued their own pastoral letter on evangelization, What We Have Seen And Heard. In it they said: The Catholic Church is not a “White Church” nor a “Euro-American Church.” It is essentially universal, hence, Catholic. The Black presence within the American Catholic Church is a precious witness to the universal character of Catholicism.”
  
• 1996 - Keep Your Hand on the Plow: A study of the African American presence in and contributions to the Catholic Church in the U.S.
  
  

---

1. Office of African American Catholics, USCCB.
2. 2002 General Social Survey (available at the American Religion Data Archives at http://www.arda.tm)
3. National Black Catholic Congress estimate.
4. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat for African American Catholics
5. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat for African American Catholics
6. U.S. Census Bureau. The Black Population in the United States, estimates for 2004
7. U. S. Census Bureau, National Population Projections, as of June, 28,2007