Knights of Peter Claver Inc.: Northern States District

In the Garden State.....     A beautiful mass was celebrated followed by a luncheon that royalty would have enjoyed. Knights and Ladies of the Order were in attendance. The newly initiated Lady Michelle Brooks-Bey, Lady Courtney Curry- transfer from Junior Division-and Lady Yvette Hall (of many years returned to the Ladies) were present. Grand Lady Shirley Rush and the other 15 Ladies were present. We were extremely proud to represent our order on Sunday.    We celebrated St. Peter Claver Day in New Jersey at St. Peter Claver Parish, Montclair NJ, a landmark parish in New Jersey for Afrcan Americans more than 50 years ago.  We were welcomed by the new administrator, Fr. Zephyrin Katompa, and all the parishioners.        

Last month, Council and Court 297 welcomed several members into Claverism.   The Knights of Peter Claver: St. Martin De Porres Council #297 and Ladies Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Francis Court #297 of The Archdiocese of Newark had a 3rd Degree Turnout on Sunday, August 11th, after 10:30 am Mass at Christ The King Church, Jersey City.     Rev. Stephen Giorno, Pastor of Christ The King (who was initiated as a Knight August 10th), celebrated the Mass.    In all, three men were initiated into CN #297 by Area Deputy Larry Butts and Initiating Team on Saturday, August 10th at St. Athanasius Church, Philadelphia, PA.  Northern District Ladies Auxiliary Area Deputies Claire Potier and Rosalind Cobb initiated 12 Ladies (10 from CT #297 and 2 from CT #229[Brooklyn]) on Saturday, August 3rd.   It is nice to see the Northern District growing!!   The pictures and descriptions are courtesy of Grand Knight Charles Brooks #297.

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 w