September 16, 2022

Holyoke parish to host play about Augustus Tolton, first Black priest in U.S.

REGIONAL
By Rebecca Drake

 

HOLYOKE – On Sept. 23, Our Lady of the Cross Parish, here, will host “Tolton: From Slave to Priest,” St. Luke Productions’ multi-media live production chronicling the life of Father Augustus Tolton, who was enslaved as a child and grew up to become the first Black priest in the United States.

The play will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23 at the Pope John Paul II Social Center, 67 St. Kolbe Drive, Holyoke. Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for children 16 and under; and $12 for adult tickets purchased in advance. To purchase tickets, call the parish office at 413.532.5661; cash, check or credit accepted. Tickets also will be available at the door. The performance runs 75 minutes and is suitable for ages 10 and up.

“We have hosted two plays by St. Luke Productions in the past: One was on St. Faustina and the other on St. Maximilian Kolbe. Both were excellent plays and were well-received by everyone who attended,” said Conventual Franciscan Father Albert Scherer, pastor of Our Lady of the Cross.

Asked why the parish chose to present the “Tolton” play this year, Father Scherer said, “There were several reasons why we chose Father Tolton. First of all, we thought that people might be interested to learn about the life of someone who is not yet a saint but on the way to being canonized. 

“Secondly, it is remarkable that a former slave is recognized as the first African American priest ordained for the Catholic Church here in our country,” he said. “Finally, with all the racial tensions and struggles taking place in the U.S., we felt it was timely to present this play now.”

Father Tolton was born into slavery in 1854 on a plantation in Brush Creek, Missouri. During the Civil War, his father left the family to try to join the Union Army, and his mother, Martha, escaped with her three young children to the free state of Illinois by rowing across the Mississippi River in a dilapidated rowboat while being fired upon by Confederate soldiers. In Quincy, Illinois, Martha Tolton raised her children in the Catholic faith.

A June 2019 report by Catholic News Service (CNS) notes that the young Augustus Tolton was taught by Franciscan priests at St. Francis College, now Quincy University, and there discerned his vocation to the priesthood. Denied access to seminaries in the U.S., he pursued his priestly education in Rome at what is now the Pontifical Urbanian University.

Father Tolton was ordained for the Propaganda Fidei Congregation in 1886 and expected to become a missionary in Africa. However he was sent to do mission work in his own country and served for three years in Quincy, Illinois, before going to the Chicago Archdiocese in 1889.

In the midst of racism and discrimination, Father Tolton became a popular pastor, drawing members of both white and black Catholic communities. He founded St. Monica Parish, the first Black Catholic parish in Chicago. According to the CNS report, Father Tolton “worked tirelessly for his congregation in Chicago, even to the point of exhaustion. On July 9, 1897, he died of heatstroke on a Chicago street at the age of 43.”

Father Tolton’s cause for canonization was officially opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2010 and he received the title, “Servant of God.” In June 2019, declaring that Father Tolton lived a life of heroic virtue, Pope Francis gave him the title of “Venerable.” In April of this year, a local ABC-TV affiliate in Quincy reported that Vatican representatives were in the United States to investigate possible miracles related to the priest’s sainthood cause.

Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry is postulator of Father Tolton’s cause and, in a recent article, stated that two miracles were possible and had been sent to Rome.

The actor portraying Father Tolton in the St. Luke Productions play is Jim Coleman, a former U.S. Army medic. He has appeared in more than 50 national commercials and is best known for his role as Roger Parker in the Nickelodeon TV show, “My Brother and Me.” Coleman and his wife Robin live in Florida and are the parents of six children.

“Father Tolton’s story needs to be told,” Coleman said in an article featured on St. Luke Productions website, stlukeproductions.com. “As a Black man, this very important part of history is something that I want the world to hear about. I truly feel blessed to be the one to share Father Augustus Tolton with all who will listen.”

Asked what he hopes local audiences will gain from attending the play, Father Scherer said, “We hope that people will be encouraged by seeing this play – everyone in the community, no matter one’s race. 

“Many people have never heard about Father Tolton, so we hope that people will simply learn about him by seeing this play and hopefully be inspired by his life,” he said. “Personally, since we hear so much terrible news about priests, it will be nice to hear something positive about this particular priest.”