Each Friday of February, we are celebrating Black History Month! Today we are sharing about the life and ministry of Sr. Thea Bowman. Sr. Thea was the first black sister of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, an active part of the Civil Rights Movement, a singer, an educator, and an Evangelist.
Sr. Thea spoke often about being Black within the Catholic Church and she was prolific in sharing her culture, heritage, customs, and joy with the Church and all those around her. She was integral in creating the first hymnal created for the Black community called Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal. After teaching for 16 years, she was appointed as a consultant for intercultural awareness for the diocese in Jackson, Mississippi. Sr. Thea also began offering speaking engagements across the country – and eventually world-wide – until her death, at the age of 52 in 1990. Below are some quotes from her that are poignant and thought-provoking regarding faith, race, and justice.
“What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? It means that I came to my church fully functioning. That doesn’t frighten you, does it? I came to my church fully functioning. I bring myself, my black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become, I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as a gift to the Church.” Excerpt from Sister Thea to the American Bishops, June 17, 1989
“Can you see yourself in a Church where there are people who are black, where there are people who are white, where there are people who are brown, where there are people of Asian heritage and people of Australian heritage and people of Native heritage? Where we all come together really being ourselves and sharing our sorrows and our joys, sharing our goals and our determinations? How rich we would be!”
“I think the difference between me and some people is that I’m content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle we’d have a tremendous light.”
“I know that God is using me in ways beyond my comprehension.”
Sr. Thea has been given the official designation of Servant of God, the first of four steps toward sainthood. We invite you to read, watch, and listen more about Sr. Thea on the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration’s website: https://www.fspa.org/content/about/sister-thea-bowman