The pioneering path of Augustus Tolton, the first Black Catholic priest in the US - born into slavery, he's now a candidate for sainthood

"The first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States, Augustus Tolton, may not be a household name. Yet I believe his story - from being born enslaved to becoming a college valedictorian - deserves to be a staple of Black History Month. "Good Father Gus" is now a candidate for sainthood. My forthcoming book, " The Wounded Church," examines ways that the Catholic Church has excluded people during different chapters of its history, from women to African American people."

"Tolton was born on April 1, 1854 in Missouri, where he and his family were enslaved. He was baptized as Catholic as an infant. He escaped slavery in 1863 with his mother and siblings, eventually settling together in Quincy, Illinois. Life in Quincy was far from a dream come true. He attempted to attend an integrated public school and a Catholic parish school, but was bullied and faced discrimination, causing him to leave."

Augustus Tolton was born enslaved in Missouri on April 1, 1854 and was baptized Catholic as an infant. He escaped slavery in 1863 with his mother and siblings and settled in Quincy, Illinois. He faced bullying and discrimination in integrated public school and a Catholic parish school and left formal schooling to work manual jobs, including at a tobacco factory. He established a Sunday school for Black Catholics. An Irish immigrant priest, Peter McGirr, allowed Tolton to attend St. Peter's parish school and arranged private tutoring. Tolton graduated as valedictorian from Saint Francis Solanus College in 1880 and later became the first publicly recognized Black Catholic priest and a candidate for sainthood.

Read at The Conversation