An ordained Jesuit, St. Peter Claver was sent to Cartagena, South America’s chief slave market, to serve the poor.
Struck by the miserable, inhumane treatment of the enslaved people, St. Peter Claver declared that he would be “forever the slave of the Africans” and spend the rest of his life serving these suffering people in whatever way he could.
In Cartagena, Fr. Claver’s vocal opposition to the slave trade and his service to the captive Africans was met with hostility. The locals ruthlessly mocked the simple and humble man while the authorities actively persecuted him.
Yet, despite the great danger in doing so, Fr. Claver deeply desired to treat the enslaved people with the dignity they deserved as the beloved sons and daughters of Our Lord.
So, every morning, Fr. Claver would make his way through the crowded streets of Cartagena and board the slave traders’ ships, where he served those who were forced to wait to be priced and sold.
Saint Peter Claver. Engraving by J. Vitta after P. Gagliardi. (photo credit: J.Vitta/CC BY-SA 3.0)
In the midst of the terrible suffering of these men and women, as they were objectified and stripped of their humanity, Fr. Claver reminded the enslaved of their inherent and irremovable dignity.
Accompanied by translators, Fr. Claver would speak to these individuals in their native language so that they could be heard and understood. He would nurse the sick, bring clean water and food, and comfort the distraught and terrified captives.
Kneeling on the hard, dirty ship floor, Fr. Claver would wash their feet with tender care. As these men and women endured the terrible wait to be sold in the slave market, Fr. Claver would teach them about the infinite love of God, about the person of Christ who shared in their suffering, and about the reality of heaven and salvation. In their moments of unimaginable darkness, St. Peter Claver brought them hope and dignity through the Sacrament of Baptism.
Although they suffered as slaves in this life, St. Peter Claver helped over 300,000 enslaved Africans be reborn into the freedom of Christ through Baptism.
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