St. Peter Claver, the future saint of the slave trade, was born at Verdú, Catalonia, Spain, probably on June 25, 1580, and he entered the Society of Jesus in 1602. After studies in Barcelona, he went (1605) to the College of Montesión in Palma de Mallorca to study philosophy, and there he met the aged brother, Alphonsus Rodríguez (see October 31), who encouraged him to be a missionary in the New World. In 1610, Peter sailed for the missions in South America and was ordained (1616) in Cartagena, Colombia—the first Jesuit to be ordained in that city. Cartagena was a prosperous city teeming with merchants; it was also a port of entry for slaves from Western Africa. It is estimated that during Fr. Claver’s years there, about 10,000 slaves passed through the port annually. The journey sometimes lasted months, and the slaves spent their days and nights chained to one another. Peter waited for the slave ships to arrive with their human cargo, and when they did, he and his interpreters, all carrying baskets of fruits, biscuits, and sweets, went aboard to greet the slaves. After comforting those on deck, Peter went down into the stench-filled holds to minister to the sick and dying. When the slaves were brought ashore, he visited them daily and gave them religious instruction, until they were sold and taken to other parts of South America. During his years working among the slaves, Peter said that he must have baptized 300,000 of them. After a lingering illness, he died in Cartagena on September 8, 1654. Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1888, and in 1896 the same pontiff declared him special patron of missions to the black nations. In today’s prayer we ask, in imitation of St. Peter Claver, for the strength to overcome all racial hatred and to love one another as brothers and sisters.
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