DrBanneker
Space is the Place
I've never heard of this tradition.
I'll let @DrBanneker define it.
A lot could be written but I'll start here:
Knights of Peter Claver - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Home - Knights of Peter Claver
www.kofpc.org
Also, the cross of St. James is a recognized symbol across a lot of the Black Catholic world since the Kingdom of the Kongo adopted St. James as its patron saint like St. George in England or St. Andrew in Scotland.
Black Catholics are heavily concentrated in Louisiana obviously due to history but have all Black parishes around the country. Some Catholic churches (though not clergy) were always integrated which attracted some Blacks historically so Black Catholics didnt necessarily break off like Black Protestants.
It probably has the highest foreign born proportion too since African and Caribbean immigrants add numbers unlike with other parishes such as AME. I was raised in an all Black Catholic parish in ATL. Omari Hardwick (Ghost from Power) and his fam were there too. Sadly, Clarence Thomas came from our ranks as well (though a parish in coastal GA)
There are huge Catholic traditions in the Caribbean and South America including syncretism like Umbanda or Cadomble though these two are opposed by the Church
We don't beef with other Black Christians and are also typically much more suspicious of the Vatican hierarchy and the fundamentalists bc of history such as the slave trade and imperialism. I know Black clergy and the church hierarchy can be racist like anything else. Even Clarence Thomas said this and that is why he left the seminary--he originally wanted to be a priest before going to college and law school.
Will also add another post about Christianity in Africa.
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