Subcommittee on African American Affairs Newsletter

"I am Black and beautiful"

Song of Songs 1:5

If you have a national event that you would like to share, please e-mail details to blackcatholics@usccb.org.

*The USCCB has the right to accept or deny any submissions.

This newsletter ends with a vocation prayer.

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We are grateful for our new subcommittee members that will work with our chair, Bishop Roy Campbell, and our USCCB staff person, Dr. Ansel Augustine:

Archbishop Shelton Fabre

Bishop Brendan Cahill

Bishop Jerome Feudjio

Bishop Jeffrey Haines

Bishop Denis Madden

Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVD

Consultants:

Fr. Gregory Chisholm, SJ

Deacon Melvin Tardy

Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI, Ed.D

Mr. Anderson Shaw

Mr. CJ Washington

Mrs. Dena Washington

We look forward to the gifts you will share, and ask all to pray for the work of this subcommittee during this next term.

Nyle Grimes, daughter of former Assistant Director of African American Affairs - Mrs. Donna Grimes, and one of the team members and attendees of the Black Catholic Young Adult Listening Session held at the USCCB, shares her reflection on the gathering. You can read more here.

Click on the image above to view the official press release.

You can read an article about the new Subcommittee here.

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of The National Association of Black Catholic Administrators:

President: Fr. Reginald Norman (returning) - Diocese of Bridgeport, CT

Vice-President: Ashley Morris - Archdiocese of Atlanta

Secretary: Dale Brown (returning) - Diocese of St. Petersburg

Treasurer: Rahsaan Garlin - Diocese of Newark

You can learn more about the work of NABCA here.

Congratulations to the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary for the establishment of Unit 419 in the Diocese of Honolulu

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York unveiled a new mural featuring Venerable Pierre Toussaint. You can read more about it here.

Click on the image above to view the updated National Black Catholic Congress brochure.

The National Black Catholic Congress is also developing a master calendar of Black Catholic events around the country. To include your event on the calendar, you can access the form here.

The National Association for Lay Ministry has released their report on Laity Working in the Catholic Church. Thank you to those who participated in the survey sent out several months ago. You can look at the report here. You can also view slides of the findings here.

A celebration of unity took place at the Vatican which featured Gospel music. An article about the event can be found here.

The USCCB has released a statement on the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. You can read the full statement here.

A video of the statement being read, can be found here.

Jari Honora who made headlines around the world by discovering Pope Leo XIV's Creole roots in New Orleans, submitted a reflection on his findings. You can read more about it here.

Congratulations to Jari Honora - named one of Ebony Magazine's Power 100 under Community Crusaders! You can learn more about this recognition here.

The Subcommittee on African American Affairs is grateful to Mr. Efran Menny for his reflection on how to have full and authentic engagement with Black families. You can read it here.

The new Mission Directive, which directs the work of the USCCB, has been affirmed. The Subcommittee on African American Affairs will be working towards initiatives that support this work over the next 4 years. Please pray for the subcommittee as we continue to discern how best to advocate for, and serve, our communities. Our initial focus is the several Black Catholic Young Adult (ages 18-40 years old) listening session that have been, and will be, taking place around the country.

We hosted several Black Catholic Young Adult Listening Sessions around the country. The first took place at Xavier University of Louisiana in November 2023. A national report was shared following this gathering, you can view the report here.

In April 2025, we held a listening session in the Diocese of Birmingham with a grant from the Catholic Home Missions Collection and support from the diocese itself. You can view an EWTN news report on the gathering by clicking here.

On August 25th and 26th, we held listening sessions at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in which a dialogue took place between the young adults and several Executive Directors, along with some local Pastors, here at the USCCB.

Thank you to the Dioceses that have organized past, and future, Black Catholic Young Adult Listening Sessions in their regions. We are very excited about the fruit that these will bring to our Church.

If your diocese is interested (must have written support of your bishop) in sponsoring (diocese must cover the cost of the session) a local Black Catholic Young Adult Gathering, please e-mail blackcatholics@usccb.org to discuss logistics.

One of the attendees of the Black Catholic Young Adult Listening Session held in Birmingham, AL shares his reflection on the gathering. You can read more here.

The Josephites have launched an initiative to assist Black Catholics involved in ministry with financial needs related to ministry programs and initiatives. You can download the flier with all the information here.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

USCCB JOB OPENINGS

Job Listings via the National Black Catholic Congress

Job Board at Association for the Study of African American Life & History

President - Cardinal Spellman HS - New York, NY

As the Universal Church looks toward the Jubilee Year 2025 (the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of our Lord), the USCCB is thrilled to support the Holy Father in this "event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church."

Please connect with your local diocese for Jubilee Year events.

You can learn more about the Jubilee Year by clicking here.

Black Catholic Formation and Educational Opportunities

To learn more about the Institute for Black Catholics Studies, click here.

Loyola Marymount University is offering several courses on Black Catholic Spirituality. You can learn more about this program by clicking here.

To learn more about the SANKOFA INSTITUTE at the Oblate School of Theology, click here.

To learn more about the New Frontiers in Preaching Academy, click here.

To learn more about the Tolton Scholars Program at Catholic Theological Union, click here.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES:

(click on the images to learn more details & deadlines)

Click on the image above for registration information.

Click on the image above for more information.

The Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Fund of the Archdiocese of New York invites all to join their prayer line on Tuesday's and Thursday's at 7:30am EST.

Black Catholic Resources (continually updated):

For a list of resources and National Partners relevant to the African American Catholic Community, please click here.

For links to various other entities, please click here.

For a list of where Black Catholic Parishes are located (constantly being updated), please click here.

2025 Black Catholic Books of Note

The National Urban League's 2025 State of Black America Report

The Equal Justice Institute 2025 Report

Upcoming Events:

July 24-29, 2026: Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary 110th Senior National Convention

October 14, 21, & 28: Culture Matters Workshops (NRVC)

Click on the image above to learn more about this item and how to support the Collegiate Units of the Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary.