By Cynthia Morris
Former member, Pax Christi USA National Council
For Black History Month 2025, Pax Christi USA will offer a weekly reflection focused on a well-known person or aspect of Black Catholicism in the United States.
Seek God in all things and you shall find God by your side. – St. Peter Claver
The Knights of Peter Claver, Inc. (KPC) is an international Black Catholic lay organization established in 1909 as the Church and the nation was struggling with the sin of racism and discrimination. It was born out of a desire to create an organization for African American men who were traditionally barred from joining other recognized Catholic fraternal orders.
Founded by four St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart (Josephites) priests and three Catholic laymen in Mobile, Alabama the KPC provided black Catholic men an opportunity to gather together for Christian fellowship, pool their resources, provide charitable donations, and financial assistance to those in need within their community.
Not long after the establishment of the men’s division, a division for women, Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary (KPCLA), was formed in 1923, followed by Junior Daughters in 1930, and the Junior Knights in1935.
While the organization is largely an African American fraternal order, all are invited and welcome to join. Today, more than 18,000 families exist across the United States and South America, consisting of councils (men), courts (women), junior branches (boys) and junior courts (girls).
Leadership in KPC/KPCLA has been crucial in confronting racism in the Catholic Church and the larger society. Over the past 100+ years, the organization has aided in the growth of the African American community within the Catholic Church. While some progress has been made, however, much more is needed.
Like St. Peter Claver, KPC/KPCLA mission focuses on social justice, evangelization, and vocations. As KPC/KPCLA continues to grow, it must continue to do the work that God is calling us to do as individuals and as an organization to support the Catholic Church.
This year will mark the 25th anniversary for the Archdiocese of Washington group, the Sister Thea Bowman Court 364, which I was invited to join in 2003. Like our namesake, our Court emulates what it means to be authentically Black and authentically Catholic. Our Court provides mutual aid to its members, engages in community service, and develops tangible leadership skills. As a Lady of Peter Claver, I support and participate in parish/archdiocesan activities, promote social justice, and nurture and develop African American youth and young adults. Being a part of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary helps us to strengthen, deepen, and renew our faith in God.
Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary is more than the prestige of wearing the impressive ceremony regalia or secret rituals. As a Lady of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, I am a part of a sisterhood that promotes friendship, unity and Christian charity.
St. Peter Claver, pray for us.
Sr. Thea Bowman, pray for us.
Question for reflection:
- What can we do to accomplish the work of God?
Cynthia Morris, former treasurer of the Pax Christi USA National Council, is an active member of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Washington, DC. She is the founder and founding president of Sisters in the Spirit – Archdiocese of Washington, past Prefect, St. Augustine Sodality, Treasurer, Sister Thea Bowman 364 and Faithful Captain, Sister Mary Antona Ebo 47 Courts of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary. She is an Associate Member of the National Black Sisters Conference (NBSC), treasurer for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a lector and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at the Basilica of the National Shrine, and volunteers at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Dear Cynthia, I know of your amazing parish from times I was at Pastoral Music conventions in DC and they joined us in song. Also, I was in a small group with Sr. Thea Bowman early on and then later she was our Keynote and leader of song another year. I used the film on her life every year when I was teaching HS schools. She greatly inspired me and Michael McGrath’s art print of Thea – Every time I feel the Spirit….Hangs on my wall! It was wonderful to read this article. I also belong to CMN and pray for an end to the death penalty. Thank you for your work as well.