Many of our Gesu elders have incredible stories of faith while holding onto hope and displaying incredible courage.  During this month of November that celebrates Black Catholic History, it is the perfect time to highlight some of the stories of African American Elders.  These stories display devotion to the faith, despite facing incredible racism even from within the church.  In spite of everything, they have deepened their relationship with God, while strengthening their commitment to the Roman Catholic faith.

Beatrice "B" Ward

Beatrice "B" Ward has always been a force to be reckoned with, forging her own path and making her own decisions. Her parents were Baptist, but she chose not to be baptized in the Baptist church. She attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church with a friend of her mother’s and liked it better. Eventually, as an adult, she was baptized Catholic at St. Agnes Church located at that time at 12th and La Salle. To read more, click here.

Emmett Moten Jr.

Emmett Moten was back in his hometown of New Orleans to be added to the hall of fame of his high school, St. Augustine. Travel logistics meant that he was unable to attend Sunday mass so instead he went to Saturday, 5:00 pm mass at St. Patrick’s where he used to attend as a child: “In those days, your parents dropped you off for confession once a week whether you’d sinned or not. Sometimes you had to go to a White parish.” To read more, click here.