History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square when Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old tech prodigy known as “God’s Influencer”, the first Millennial saint.
Acutis, known as “God’s influencer” after building a website cataloging over 100 Church-approved Eucharistic miracles, died in 2006 when he was 15. His death came days after he was diagnosed with leukemia. It is reported that a Costa Rican student was healed from severe head trauma after her mother prayed at his tomb following his passing.
The term “saint” refers to someone who led an exemplary holy life dedicated to Jesus Christ. In the Roman Catholic Church, such individuals go through a process of canonization to be officially recognized as saints by the Church. There are more than 10,000 saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, and this figure includes numerous Black Catholic Saints.
While there aren’t currently any formally canonized African-American saints, some are on the path to sainthood, such as Venerable Augustus Tolton and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman.
Here are four Black Saints you should know about:
Saint Martin de Porres
He is the patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony.
Born on December 9, 1579, St. Martin de Porres of the Dominican Order was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, becoming the first Black saint in the Americas.
He was born to a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan de Porres, and a young freed Black slave, Ana Velázquez from Panama.
His great distinction was that “he was noted for his work on behalf of the poor, establishing an orphanage and a children’s hospital. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Among the many miracles attributed to him were those of levitation, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and an ability to communicate with animals,” reports the aaregistry.org.
Saint Charles Lwanga
Saint Charles Lwanga, who is one of 22 Ugandan martyrs, defended his young adult companions (aged 13 to 30) against the homosexual demands of the Bugandan (Ugandan) king, Mwanga. Mwanga came to power at the age of 16 and demanded that Christians renounce their faith. He also demanded that his servants perform sexual favours for him.
When they were imprisoned for refusing the king’s demands, Saint Lwanga encouraged and instructed his fellow young adults in the Catholic faith. For declining to engage in the immoral acts sanctioned by the king, Lwanga was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, by King Mwanga’s order.
He is today regarded as the patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action, converts, and torture victims.
Saint Bakhita
Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine (which was not her first real name) was kidnapped by slave traders at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate.
For more than a decade, she was bought and sold several times. In 1883, Josephine was eventually sold to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan. After two years, he took Bakhita to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. From there, she served as a family maid and babysitter to Michieli’s daughter, Mimmina.
As she accompanied Mimmina to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters, Bakhita began to learn about God and Catholicism and got drawn to the Catholic Church.
On January 9, 1890, at 30 years old, she was baptized into the Catholic faith, taking the name of “Josephine Margaret.” On that same date, she was confirmed and made her First Holy Communion, the other two sacraments of initiation.
Her owners later wanted to take her back to Sudan, but she refused. Since slavery was actually illegal in Italy, a court ruled her free. She later joined the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa religious community. Also known as “Mother Bakhita”, Josephine passed away on February 8, 1947, at the Canossian Convent, Schio, surrounded by the Sisters.
In 1959, the first steps toward her beatification began. She was beatified on May 17, 1992, and later she was canonized during the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Holy Year 2000. To date, many believe that her message of forgiveness and mercy has provided humanity with hope in the midst of a period of hatred and violence. Venerated as a modern African saint, and adopted as the patron saint of Sudan, many people still receive graces through her intercession.
Saint Kizito
The patron saint of children and primary schools, Saint Kizito was the youngest of the 22 Ugandan martyrs.
When he was 14 years old, King Mwanga II of Buganda (Uganda) burned him to death after getting to know that he was a Christian. Kizito and eleven others were wrapped in reed mats and laid on a furnace bonfire where they were burned alive because they refused to abandon their Christian faith. While being burned alive, history says he recited the “Our Father.” His last words were, “Goodbye my friends, we are on the right path.”
Saint Kizito’s feast day is June 3. He was beatified in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV and canonised on October 18, 1964, by Pope Paul VI.
