Saint Peter Claver (9 September): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

When slave ships arrived in Cartagena, most people kept their distance. St. Peter Claver entered the crowded enclosures carrying medicine, bread, lemons, and the consoling truths of the Catholic faith. Born in Verdú, Spain, around 1581, Peter entered the Society of Jesus and studied under the humble St. Alphonsus Rodríguez. Encouraged to serve the neglected peoples of the New World, he sailed permanently from Spain in 1610 and was ordained in Cartagena. There he confronted the appalling human cost of the Atlantic slave trade. Calling himself “the slave of the Africans forever,” Claver cared for the sick and dying, employed interpreters, taught with sacred images, defended Christian marriage and family life, and showed the enslaved their immeasurable dignity as souls redeemed by Christ. During forty years of ministry, he reportedly instructed and baptized more than 300,000 people. His apostolate also extended to hospitals, lepers, prisoners, condemned criminals, sailors, merchants, and slaveholders whom he called to repentance. After years of exhausting labor, Peter endured sickness, neglect, false accusations, and abandonment without complaint. He died on September 8, 1654, as Cartagena finally recognized the saint it had largely forgotten. From Father Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints for September 9. St. Peter Claver, pray for us! 0:00 St. Peter Claver and the slave trade 0:48 Childhood and education in Catalonia 1:19 Entering the Society of Jesus 1:26 St. Alphonsus Rodríguez changes his life 2:14 A vocation to the missions 2:40 Sailing permanently to New Granada 3:13 Cartagena and the Atlantic slave trade 4:01 The deadly voyage across the ocean 4:16 The Church condemns the trade 5:22 Father Alonso de Sandoval’s mission 5:38 “Slave of the Africans forever” 6:02 Meeting the arriving slave ships 7:11 Entering with medicine and food 7:36 Caring for bodies and souls 8:01 Teaching through interpreters and images 8:52 Restoring Christian dignity 9:31 A simple prayer to Jesus Christ 10:03 More than 300,000 instructed and baptized 10:50 Challenging slaveholders to act justly 12:17 Visiting plantations, mines, and haciendas 13:08 Miracles and care for the sick 13:48 Converting Protestants and hardened sinners 14:46 Consoling those condemned to death 15:18 Fifteen hours hearing confessions 16:00 Apostle of all Cartagena 16:15 His severe penances 17:16 Illness ends his active ministry 18:12 One final return to the docks 18:36 Forgotten and abandoned 19:19 False accusations and patient suffering 19:58 His successor arrives 20:14 St. Peter foretells his death 20:31 Cartagena remembers its saint 20:47 Death on Our Lady’s Nativity 21:04 A magnificent public funeral 21:42 Canonization and worldwide patronage https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/september/ Get Butler's Lives of the Saints here: https://loretopublications.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=102&url=1 #SaintPeterClaver #LivesOfTheSaints #CatholicSaints #Jesuit #FeastDay #CatholicFaith #ChurchHistory #CatholicYouTube #SaintsStories #ChristianFaith 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴