Quincy Catholics To Honor The Life Of The Nation's First Black Priest

Catholics in Quincy will come together Saturday to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of Father Augustine Tolton’s death. He is widely regarded as the nation’s first black priest.

A mile-long pilgrimage procession will start near the statue of Father Tolton outside of St. Peter Catholic School.

Father Daren Zehnle, with the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, said the pilgrimage recognizes a man who lived by the Bible’s example.

“It’s a way for us to walk from a statue of Father Tolton outside of St. Peter’s School in Quincy to walk about a mile along the streets of the city as a public witness to the holiness of this priest and as a way of inviting others to join us and to pray with us and so that we might imitate him as he imitated Christ,” he said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/quincy-catholics-honor-life-nation-s-first-black-priest