It being February, I guess that caused me to actually learn something. Or perhaps it really was not learning anything new so much s it was simply putting two and two together and, somehow, for the first time discovering "four!"
Long before this February arrived, I already knew that back in the late third century the Catholic Church hd a Pope Victor I.
I also knew that, like so much of that part of our ancient history, little is known about this pope or his dealings. Items, however, known include his attempt to pull varying factions together into agreeing on a common day, specifically a Sunday, for observing Easter. He did not do too well in his time on that particular issue. However, there is another in which he rather overwhelmingly succeeded.
He is the one who quite literally gave the Roman Church Latin.
Prior to him, the common language of the Church was also the common language of the Roman Empire and that was Greek. It was most used although, when it came to the language of liturgy, a number of other languages were also in play. Linguistic uniformity was not the norm, not even in play.
Pope Victor I brought Latin into ecclesiastical use in Rome.
I knew about Victor (sort of) and I knew about the introduction of the use of Latin (sort of.)
But this February I did some exploring and some research with a whole different perspective in mind.
See, February is Black History Month and that extends a call for us all to come to explore a part of human history that has too often been overlooked or even ignored. Maybe some consider that segment of our history too be a bit too painful to face. However, if we are to be truly human, we need to know better all of our history.
And that quest led me to put a two and two together and discover a hidden "four" in our history.
You see - Pope Victor I was from Africa! He is considered the first Black Catholic Pope! And this is the guy who introduced us to using Latin!
Now that is a piece of Black Catholic History that probably opens many an eye!
And that also raises the question: How much Black Catholic History do we really know?
Of course, historians will quickly point out in this matter that our more contemporary concepts of race were not the same as those held in earlier centuries. True. However, Victor 1 is listed as our first Black Pope.
Consider this - in our Religious Education classes, how much awareness is given to our young about that part of our history and culture?
Do we take time with the story contained in Acts of the Apostles (Acts :26 - 40) about the interaction between the Deacon Phillip and the Ethiopian, a tale reminding us that before the Good News headed north into Europe, it was taking root in the south, in Africa and Ethiopians, even back then were definitely not Western Europeans.
Consider our litany of saints - include those African Greats such as Augustine and his mother, Monica, and Perpetua and Felicity and - well, perhaps it is time for some exploration and a little Googling to break open the richness of our not just Black but universal history.
And in that search and discovery, we dare not ignore our own African/Americans who even now are on the way to sainthood. The Church in the United States has been truly blessed. Do we even know how richly? or by whom? Do we know any of their names? Their stories?
If I mentioned John Augustus Tolton, would that register with you?
How about Mary Elizabeth Lange? or Thea Bowman?
And if you know nothing of Thea Bowman, you are really missing out! She is a true gem in our history - her music! her speeches!
Perhaps it is long overdue to start helping ourselves and our young to become more aware of just how Catholic we truly are and our enriched we can be because of it.
Our religious classes need to be truly "catholic."
Our images in our places of gathering and worship need to far better reflect our catholicity.
Bulletin art and calendar art needs to proclaim - We are truly a Catholic Church!
It is February.
The weather is still not all that great. Winter has still locked her grip.
So, why not use some of this time to do some personal, enriching exploration.
Google things like "Black" and "Catholic" and see if you don't discover an old, reliable two and two that suddenly make four!
And this is in tribute to and memory of a dear friend, Oliver Wilford - RIP -d.2022
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