PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) Bishop David Zubik is calling for a day of prayer and fasting for racial reconciliation on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Sept. 9 is the memorial day for St. Peter Claver, the patron of interracial justice.
St. Peter Claver was a 17th century Jesuit priest who ministered to enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, providing spiritual and material care.
“In solidarity with all people who suffer from discrimination and violence due to their race, I join my brother bishops nationwide in asking everyone to pray and work for racial justice and reconciliation,” Bishop Zubik said.
The focus of the fasting and prayer for Bishop Zubik is to use this as an opportunity to inspire change as individuals, parishes, and communities.
Bishop Zubik also asked local Cahtolics to seek the intercession of another saint of racial justice who lived in Pittsburgh.
St. Katherine Drexel founded a religious order to educate Black and Indigenous Americans, and opposing racism.
St. Katherine lived with and learned from the Sister of Mercy in Pittsburgh.
“The example and prayers of St. Katharine should inspire us to work as deliberately she did for justice and to speak up and take action whenever we encounter racism,” Bishop Zubik said. “Let the memory of her presence on our streets move us to follow in her footsteps.”
On Aug. 27, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, asked all people of faith to observe Sept. 9 as a day of fasting and prayer to end racisim.
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