Father Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), Ex-Slave, Priest, and Devoted Servant of God
By Alicia Washington

The story of Father Augustus Tolton is a twist on the classic rags to riches story.  Though born into slavery (“rags”), he grew to be rich beyond compare.  His riches did not come from monetary wealth, though; instead, he was rich in faith, an unrelenting faith that has led him to the road to sainthood.

Henriette Delille, (1812-1862), founder of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary“For the love of Jesus Christ, she had become the humble and devout servant of the slaves.”
By Josephine Dongbang

Henriette Delille was born in 1812 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a loving Catholic family. While Henriette was born a free woman, she was descended from an enslaved African woman and white slave owner. Thus, following the tradition of the females in her family, she was groomed to form a monogamous relationship with wealthy white men under the plaçage system. She was trained in French literature, music, and dance, and expected to attend balls to meet men who would enter into such civil unions. Most of these agreements often ended up with the men later marrying white women in “official” marriages and/or abandoning their promises of support for the women and their mixed-race children. As a devout Catholic, Henriette opposed such system, believing it went against the Catholic sacrament of marriage.

Pierre Toussaint (1766 – 1854) Successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former slave
by Fritz Cherubin, Jr.
Venerable Pierre Toussaint was born into slavery on June 27, 1766 on the French colony Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). He was educated as a child by his owners, the Bérard family; trained as a house slave; and raised as a Catholic.

On the brink of the Haitian Revolution (a beautiful story for another time), the Bérards moved to New York City along with their slaves, including Pierre and his sister, Rosalie. It was here in New York City, where Pierre first apprenticed and then became one of New York’s leading hairdressers, especially for the upper class. His reputation as a skilled hairdresser allowed him to earn a good living. In fact, he discreetly supported Madame Bérard through his earnings after her husband’s death. He was granted freedom at the age of 45 upon Madame Bérard’s death. By that point, he had saved enough money to pay for his sister’s freedom and purchase a house in Manhattan (unheard of at the time). He took the surname of Toussaint, honoring Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution.

The Thursday night book club is just starting to read Dorothy Day’s autobiography, The Long Loneliness. Please join us.

For this Thursday, we will begin the book and read from Confession, up to and including The East Side (pages 9-56). We will meet on Thursday at 7 PM via Zoom.

The next meeting of the Sunday book club will take place on Sunday, February 14 at 12:30 PM. We will discuss Sold on a Monday,  a compelling novel by Kristina McMorris. It  is set in the era of the Great Depression.