St. Peter Claver

First published in the September 4, 2022 Bulletin of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, Delray Beach, FL

St. Peter Claver was born in Verdu, Spain, about fifty-four miles west of Barcelona. His family were prosperous and devout Catholics. As a teen at the University of Barcelona, he was noted for his piety as well as his intelligence. At the age of twenty, he entered the Jesuit Order. While studying toward his ordination, he had already developed a profound spirituality, “I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like a slave, wholly occupied in the service of his master and in the endeavor to please and content him in all and in every way with his whole soul, body, and mind.”[1]

After St. Peter completed his novitiate, he was sent to Palma, Mallorca for further studies in philosophy. While there, he came to know the porter of the college, Alphonsus Rodriguez (1531-1617), a lay brother from Segovia, who was known for his impact on people, his holiness, and his gift of prophecy. Alphonsus Rodríguez, who was himself canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1988, told Peter that God was calling Peter to spend his life in service in the colonies of New Spain. Peter heeded that call, and at the age of thirty, he began to serve in Cartagena, then part of the New Republic of Spain, and now part of Colombia.

Cartagena was a hub of the slave trade; it is estimated that 10,000 slaves were traded there yearly. Peter ministered to them ministered to them from the time the slave ships approached the docks, taking his own boat out to meet them. He fed them, addressed their medical needs, and gave them comfort. It is believed that, during the 40-year course of his ministry, he catechized and baptized over 300,000 slaves. Peter is often quoted as stating “we must speak to them with our hands, before we try to speak to them with our lips,”[2] which remains a model for catechesis today. We must model that what we wish to teach.

St. Peter’s life and accomplishments are not without controversy. Dr. Katie Grimes has argued that the way the church celebrates Peter Claver as ‘the saint of the slave trade’ upholds anti-blackness much more than it undermines it, because it suggests that the church was historically fighting racist practices rather than actively participating in them.”[3] Others disagree with her, including James Martin, S.J , who has stated “it's unjust to cast St. Peter Claver, who worked tirelessly with the slaves, in a bad light. How many of us would take the risks to do what Peter did?”[4]

Saint Peter Claver is the patron saint of slaves, the Republic of Colombia, and ministry to African Americans. He is a good model for us today in tending to the poor and forgotten of the world today.

[1] Quoted by Joseph Sladky, "St. Peter Claver: Slave Of The Slaves Forever", Crisis Magazine, 2022, https://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/st-peter-claver-slave-slaves-forever.

[2] Colleen Dulle, "Who Is St. Peter Claver?", America Magazine, 2017, https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/09/08/st-peter-claver-jesuit.

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid