AAMEN ESSAY WINNER: Ashlyn Davis
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 These historical documents contain information about African-American Catholic priests, sisters, brothers, deacons, seminarians and lay people.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.
Sixth Grade – Ashlyn Davis
People like Pierre Toussaint are some of the great heroes that make the world a better place. Over his life Pierre has fought and overcome multiple, gigantic waves of adversity and barriers in society, as well as showing great amounts of compassion while keeping his cool. He made sure that others’ lives were the best that they could be, making these his top priority. Pierre shows us how to live a humble and holy life even when he was in slavery and put others first, when he faced harsh times as a Catholic and wanted to help others who faced the same problems, and when people gave him a hard time because of his skin color he still showed love to the people.
Pierre faced the life of being enslaved, but looked at life with a positive outlook. We can understand what his life was like in slavery from these events. After Pierre moved to America he was asked to become a hairdresser to support the household while also being able to save a little from the job. So he took the job with diligence and love. Years later, after his owner’s death, his widowed wife fell deeply ill so Pierre did what few would do by using his small savings to support the widow while paying off her debts. From this, she decided to free Pierre, but before this could happen Pierre had finally saved up enough money to buy his future wife’s freedom. This event shows how much Pierre wanted others to have a great life instead of him. He made sure to put others first even when he had problems of his own.
The time that Pierre lived was a rough time for Catholics and even more of a harsh time for black Catholics. Even though those times were tough for black Catholics, Pierre didn’t let that stop him. In fact, Pierre made sure he had God first in his life by visiting him first thing in the morning every day for 66 years. Pierre also had a strong feeling that others should learn about God in their daily life leading him to open the first black Catholic school countrywide, but before that, Pierre was working as a hairdresser where people would find him preaching the great news of God. While doing this he actually attracted more customers because they wanted to hear the glory of God. Over his life, Pierre shows that God was always first in his life and wanted it to be that way for others.
When we think of Pierre Toussaint, we see a wonderful person which makes it hard to believe
that people disliked him because of his skin color. Here are some of the instances in his life where this happened and how he showed love and joy. To start off, a man in Pierre’s town had recently lost his job and needed support, so Pierre and his wife offered a hand, but were rejected. You might think this was the last of Pierre, but it was not. He and his wife did the unthinkable by leaving food for the man secretly.
Another example of this starts after Pierre’s death when his body was moved to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which in years prior, he was denied entry. Finally in an earlier time when Pierre was still helping out the church, he helped black women become sisters of the church. Pierre loved everybody even if they treated him like nobody because he was black.
Pierre Toussaint’s life was full of hurdles and challenges to overcome, but he took these mountain challenges with love and never let them hurt his relationship with God and others. Pierre shows us how to love life while being a slave, a Catholic, and being black. He put God and others in front of himself with humility and heart. He had passion in what he did as well as achieving a holy life. People learned how to live a life with kindness and strive for greatness which makes him a hero of a different kind.