Saint Peter Claver

“When he was 29 years old, Peter left his home in Spain and went to Cartagena (in what is now Colombia), South America. There he continued his studies and was ordained a priest. Cartagena was the main market for the slave trade in the New World. Whenever a ship carrying Africans arrived in port, Peter was there. He would hurry down with a jug of water, and a basket full of medicine, fruit, bread, and clothing. His first concern was to tend to their human needs — to ease their suffering and somehow restore their sense of dignity. He saw the suffering Jesus in the people he served.

A man of deep prayer, unbounded energy, and steady devotion, Peter Claver realized that it was his relationship with Christ that nourished his spirit and gave him the courage to go on when so many problems surrounded his work. When he died the city that had opposed so many of his efforts honored him.”

Loyola Press

Learn More

Today is a good day to learn more about modern slavery.

Anti Slavery Australia provides free legal services for those in situations of modern slavery, undertakes research and advocacy, and provides training and capacity building for organisations working against modern slavery.

The Anti-Slavery Taskforce of the Sydney Archdiocese helps church organisations to eliminate slavery from their supply chains.

Pray

O God, who made Saint Peter Claver a slave of slaves
and strengthened him with wonder charity and patience
as he came to their help, 
grant, through his intercession, that,
seeking the things of Jesus Christ,
we may love our neighbor in deeds and in truth. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen