AAMEN ESSAY WINNER #2: Andrew Gardner
The African Ancestry Ministry and Evangelization Network (AAMEN) invites you to join us in celebration of National Black Catholic History Month (NBCHM). In 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus designated November as NBCHM. The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus chose Notre Dame University’s Theodore Hesburgh Library to entrust the archives. These historical documents contain information about African-American Catholic priests, sisters, brothers, deacons, seminarians and lay people. November also marks a time, when in loving remembrance, the church prays for all saints and souls, as well as a time to recall the saints and souls of Africa and African diaspora.
To celebrate NBCHM, St. Michael Chapter of AAMEN worked with St. Michael School to introduce the Middle School students to Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, an African American convert to Catholicism. She was a Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The students studied the life of Sr. Thea, her contributions to the Catholic Church, and were invited to write an essay. The winning essays will be featured in the bulletins though-out the month of November. Please take time to reflect on Sr. Thea Bowman as she awaits our church’s recognition as a Saint.
Eighth Grade – Andrew Gardner
“Sister Thea Bowman was a woman of many talents. She could sing, she loved God, and she shared that love for God with the world. She showed this by speaking across the country and even starting the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation. She led the life God wanted her to lead in her community and everywhere she went.
Bertha Elizabeth Bowman was born December 29, 1937 in Yazoo City, Mississippi to parents Mary Esther Bowman and Dr. Theon Bowman. At age 15, she asked her parents if she could join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and left comfortable Mississippi life to move to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she entered the St. Rose Convent as the only African American in her religious community. She was given the name Thea after her father, Theon. Also, it literally means “God” or “Goddess.”
In 1984, many unfortunate events occurred. Both of her parents died, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the last six years of her life, she traveled the country, speaking and preaching God’s word everywhere she went. One thing she did on this journey was start the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation, which provides full scholarships to Catholic universities for African-American students who can’t afford to pay for college themselves. As a testament to her enduring faith, The Bowman Leadership Academy was created after her death, with seven Catholic Schools serving those in need of education and faith.
On March 30, 1990, she died a peaceful death in the home where she grew up in Mississippi. As she always said, she went “home like a shooting star.”
Works Cited
“Biography and Legacy of Sr. Thea Bowman.” Viterbo University, https://www.viterbo.edu/sr-thea-bowman-center/biography-and-legacy-sr-thea-bowman. Accessed 2 October 2022.
“Sister Thea Bowman’s Story.” Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, https://www.fspa.org/content/about/sister-thea-bowman. Accessed 2 October 2022.
One Comment On “AAMEN ESSAY WINNER #2: Andrew Gardner”
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I enjoyed reading about Sister Thea when I visited your church this week from PA. I had the great honor of seeing Sister Thea in the 1980’s at the East Coast Catholic Conference in Washington DC. She was so dynamic and inspiring. I’ve never forgotten her powerful message and beautiful singing voice.