There was standing room only last night at a special Mass at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in East Baltimore. But that was all right, because it seemed that almost no one wanted to sit down during a celebration marking the 125th anniversary of the Josephite order.
The Mass began just after sunset with the gospel choir singing, "We've Come This Far by Faith." Their voices brought the 600 people gathered in the sanctuary to their feet, and the audience clapped and sang along while a line of religious dignitaries, led by Cardinal William H. Keeler, walked down the center aisle.
"This is a moment of rejoicing for us," said the Rev. William L. Norvel, pastor at St. Francis Xavier. "This is a moment to thank God. But this is also a moment to ask God to help us keep on keeping on in his name."
The Mass marked the founding in 1871 of St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart -- the Josephites -- in London. It sent priests to Baltimore that same year to serve Catholics of African descent by starting parishes and schools.
Among the area's first free black Catholics were those who arrived at Fells Point in 1793 from Haiti. In their honor, last night's Mass was attended by Haitian Bishop Emmanuel Constant.
The Mass was also attended by the Baltimore's retired Archbishop William D. Borders and Bishops William E. Lori and Leonard J. Olivier of the Archdiocese of Washington.
St. Francis Xavier, the setting for the celebration, has plain walls with peeling paint and unremarkable statues. But in that sanctuary, the Josephites led efforts that enriched the lives of African-Americans of all faiths.
Keeler called St. Francis Xavier the "mother church" for African-American Catholics and reflected on highlights of the history of black Catholics in Baltimore during his half-hour homily.
He pointed out that in the beginning, Josephite priests sent to the church were aided by the Oblate Sisters, the first religious order in the world for women of African descent. In 1891, he said, the first African-American priest, the Rev. Charles Randolph Uncles, was ordained. And in the 1970s, the first Catholic gospel choir in the eastern United States was formed at St. Francis Xavier.
The number of parishes operated by the Josephites in Baltimore has dwindled from seven to four -- St. Francis Xavier, St. Veronica in Cherry Hill, St. Peter Claver in West Baltimore and St. Pius V in Harlem Park, which merged with St. Barnabas.
