Black Saints & Other Notable Figures

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Bishop of modern-day Algeria in northern Africa. Known as a defender of Christianity who worked throughout his life to convert others to his faith. He was also a writer who lived a mostly monastic life. 

St. Peter Claver (1580-1654). Spaniard who lived in the port city of Cartegena, Columbia, which was a center of the African slave trade in the Americas during the 1600s. He was moved by the inhumane treatment of slaves and spent his life serving them. Remembered for baptizing thousands of people and for protecting the helpless. 

St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639) One of the best known Black Catholics in the Western world. Father was Spanish nobleman, mother a former slave. He worked on behalf of the poor throughout his life. Canonized in 1962 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. 

St. Monica (d. 387) Mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. Spent most of her life praying for the Christian conversion of her wayward and worldly son, who eventually became one of the Church's greatest theologians. She was a shrewd woman of faith and spiritual anchor for her son whose talents she felt belonged to the Church. 

St. Maurice. Born less than 250 years after Jesus. Became a general in the Roman army stationed in what is modern-day France. He and 6,000 soldiers were ordered to stop a rebellion against the Empire. When he discovered his soldiers were all Christians, they refused to fight fellow Christians. They refused to sacrifice to Roman gods. He and his men were executed.