One of the most satisfying things about actually making the trip, rather than just working from home through phone calls and emails, was the unexpected surprises that only came from being there in person.
One such example was St. Benedict the Moor, the sister parish to St. Augustine Cathedral in the Florida city of the same name. Before I left for the Sunshine State, the secretary at St. Augustine asked me if I was also going to attend Mass at St. Benedict the Moor, which I wasn’t familiar with beforehand. But what a blessing it was to discover it.
St. Benedict the Moor was the historically black parish in the city, a sad reality for all Catholic churches in the pre-Civil Rights South. But it was also a significant location in that battle for equality. One day after civil rights leaders left St. Augustine after a lengthy campaign there, one marked by violent opposition, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
While in St. Augustine, Martin Luther King Jr., who we honor today, was housed by a parishioner from St. Benedict the Moor. Another giant from the Civil Rights movement, Ralph Abernath, stayed at the home of a wonderful friend I met during my visit to St. Augustine, Donna Hughes.
52 Masses 