The Church in the United States is suffering. Over the past year, American Catholics have watched stories unfold on sex abuse, cover-ups, the McCarrick scandal, and now reports of Bishop Bransfield’s misconduct. The Church is in desperate need of hope during this time, and an American priest on his way to canonization could bring just that.
On June 12, the Vatican announced that Fr Augustus Tolton, the first African-American priest of the Catholic Church, had been granted the title “Venerable”, moving along his cause for canonization. Now that he is only two miracles away from being the first African American saint, I believe it is time to consider the case for one day naming him the patron saint of the United States.
