A message from the Salesian Life and Campus Ministry:

"I think the difference between me and some people is that I'm content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle we'd have a tremendous light." ~Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman

Throughout the month of February, Visitation celebrated Black History Month. In the Lower and Middle schools, classes celebrated with music, books and lessons on black leaders. Each week at Upper School assemblies, the Students of Color (SOCS) highlighted leaders who through their lives of advocacy, the arts and sciences, promoted values that align with Salesian virtues and principles of Catholic Social Teaching. 

In this the final week of Black History Month, Visitation is honored to have Danielle Harrison join us. Ms Harrison is a graduate of Visitation Academy in Saint Louis, and former member of the Visitation Board of Trustees; she holds a Masters in Theology as well as a JD degree. Danielle will speak, sing and pray with the Lower, Middle and Upper school students. Her work embraces a spirit of love, united in Salesian unidiversity, where all are created in the image and likeness of God, yet all are unique, diverse, individual.

As part of our Black History Month celebrations, students learned about the Black Catholics on the path to sainthood. There are six Black Catholics from the United States currently Servants of God, or declared Venerable in the canonization process.

Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman’s case for canonization has advanced significantly this month. The Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi finished their documentation of her life and virtue and is in the process of submitting it to Rome. Thea Bowman was born in Mississippi in 1937, and converted to Catholicism at a young age, due in part to the influence of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. The Sisters were her teachers of the faith, along with her family and community members. Thea learned and lived the traditions and African American culture; the music, the stories, the history, and the faith from her elders. She joined the Franciscan Sisters at their Mother House in La Crosse, WI when she was 15 and became a teacher. Sister Thea was known for encouraging all to know their heritage as beloved children of God and left her mark through singing, music, dance, drama, poetry and story, evangelizing black joy, pride and freedom. Her influence reached Catholic institutions of higher education across America and continues today. Sister Thea died of cancer in 1990. 

In the Salesian tradition of the heart, we are reminded that God’s love connects us all. This love can illuminate our connection to and with others, and light our path in how we Live+Jesus each and every day. As Black History Month concludes, may the life of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman be a shining example of this true light.