Black History Liturgy

5:00 PM Sunday Student-led Liturgy

“African Americans and Labor”

As part of the celebration of Black History Month and 44 Days, Saint Mary’s College of California wishes to invite you and your family to a celebration of Black History Liturgy on Sunday, February 23, at 5:00 PM in the Main Chapel. 

Black History Liturgy is a student-led Sunday celebration of Mass in which we will recall as inspired by the “Sankofa” symbol on poster, honor, and celebrate the contributions black people have made to Catholic faith and spirituality.  These contributions are part of black history and labor that are seldom recognized or celebrated.  As Cyprian Davis writes: “In the rich background of church history, there are images that we have chosen not to see, figures that have been allowed to blur, characters passing through center stage for a brief moment with no supporting cast. Still, they have been there, and the church has been marked with their blackness.  Yet too often the presence of black Catholics through the centuries has been a muted one, a silent witness, an unspoken testimony (Davis, History of Black Catholics, 1990: x).

Since Saint Mary’s College is rooted in Lasallian Catholic Liberal Arts tradition, Black History Liturgy offers an opportunity for all Gaels and allies to acknowledge the role of black cultures have played in the Catholic within that tradition. We hope this liturgy would inspire especially Gaels of African descent on campus toward a sense of belonging and inclusion.