St. Peter Claver - A priest of the Slaves
As St. Peter Claver Day approaches, I am reminded of a vignette that I saw a few years back about out patron saint. It reminded me of the miracles attributed to Peter Claver. I was able to track down the transcript of the vignette that I witnessed about our patron saint:
...In a few days, I - Vincenzo Luigi Pecci also known as Pope Leo the 13th - will announce the canonization of three remarkable entities in our Catholic faith, one of them being Peter Claver.
Every since 1878 when I took over for Pope Pius the 9th, I have made great strides to increase Catholicism world wide. This month, I will do just that again. For some time now I have been reading information, testimonies on Peter Claver and the things he accomplished in the Americas with the Negro Slaves. For over thirty years, Father Claver alleviated the pain and suffering the Africans from the Ivory Coast region experienced during the slave trade in Cartagena, Columbia. Thousands of slaves would come each month and, he was there to care for them. The Negroes came there cooped up in shackles, months at sea on the boats. He approached them with food and water, instead of apathy, pain and greed. As he baptized - some 300 to 400 thousand of them - Father Claver held service for them, rounded up other good people together to decipher the many dialects of the Negros, and became slaves' advocates to their oppressors. Like all good men, he acquired enemies: slave traders, slave masters, and other elites of society - who didn't appreciate the Holy Sacraments given to such 'lower creatures'.
Based on the law, that isn't enough to make a person a saint. There must be miracles attributed to a person for canonization to occur. Last year I was given such information. The first miracle occurred in 1848 in Milwaukee, WI. Barbara Dressen found a wart on her cheek that got redder. It was diagnosed as incurable cancer. She put her faith in Heaven and in the relics of Peter Claver - which were at a mission during this time. The wart disappeared; after the mission left, her illness turned into an ulcer. For ten years she dealt with the scarring and pain of the ulcer. At this time the priest with the relics of Peter Claver returned to Milwaukee. She was blessed again with the relics and petitioned prayer to Father Claver. As she left the church, her scabs fell from her face and turned into dust, the scars faded away, and she walked without pain. The illness never returned. Her faith healed her.
The second miracle occurred in 1861. A man named Ignatius Strecker was injured in St. Louis, MO at a soap factory and obtained tuberculosis. He was given two weeks to live. The following day, Ignatius went to St. Joseph Church and was blessed with a relic of Peter Claver. His health was immediately restored. His faith healed him.
These miracles and actions of a great man cannot be ignored. This priest of the Negro Slaves has been called upon for help; with the Holy Spirit and the Lord, Peter Claver helps those who ask for it. For the Americas and the stability of the Holy Church, I will canonize this man on the 15th of January in the year 1888....
Something to thing about.
...In a few days, I - Vincenzo Luigi Pecci also known as Pope Leo the 13th - will announce the canonization of three remarkable entities in our Catholic faith, one of them being Peter Claver.
Every since 1878 when I took over for Pope Pius the 9th, I have made great strides to increase Catholicism world wide. This month, I will do just that again. For some time now I have been reading information, testimonies on Peter Claver and the things he accomplished in the Americas with the Negro Slaves. For over thirty years, Father Claver alleviated the pain and suffering the Africans from the Ivory Coast region experienced during the slave trade in Cartagena, Columbia. Thousands of slaves would come each month and, he was there to care for them. The Negroes came there cooped up in shackles, months at sea on the boats. He approached them with food and water, instead of apathy, pain and greed. As he baptized - some 300 to 400 thousand of them - Father Claver held service for them, rounded up other good people together to decipher the many dialects of the Negros, and became slaves' advocates to their oppressors. Like all good men, he acquired enemies: slave traders, slave masters, and other elites of society - who didn't appreciate the Holy Sacraments given to such 'lower creatures'.
Based on the law, that isn't enough to make a person a saint. There must be miracles attributed to a person for canonization to occur. Last year I was given such information. The first miracle occurred in 1848 in Milwaukee, WI. Barbara Dressen found a wart on her cheek that got redder. It was diagnosed as incurable cancer. She put her faith in Heaven and in the relics of Peter Claver - which were at a mission during this time. The wart disappeared; after the mission left, her illness turned into an ulcer. For ten years she dealt with the scarring and pain of the ulcer. At this time the priest with the relics of Peter Claver returned to Milwaukee. She was blessed again with the relics and petitioned prayer to Father Claver. As she left the church, her scabs fell from her face and turned into dust, the scars faded away, and she walked without pain. The illness never returned. Her faith healed her.
The second miracle occurred in 1861. A man named Ignatius Strecker was injured in St. Louis, MO at a soap factory and obtained tuberculosis. He was given two weeks to live. The following day, Ignatius went to St. Joseph Church and was blessed with a relic of Peter Claver. His health was immediately restored. His faith healed him.
These miracles and actions of a great man cannot be ignored. This priest of the Negro Slaves has been called upon for help; with the Holy Spirit and the Lord, Peter Claver helps those who ask for it. For the Americas and the stability of the Holy Church, I will canonize this man on the 15th of January in the year 1888....
Something to thing about.
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