Father Augustus Tolton

Father Augustus Tolton (1854 - 1897)

Augustus Tolton may have spent his entire life making history and enduring oppression and injustice as the first Black Catholic priest in the United States but never saw himself as the center or focus of his life. He lived for God alone and poured himself out in the service of his brothers and sisters, regardless of their color or creed.

Augustus was born in 1854 to Peter Paul and Martha Tolton; both slaves in northeast Missouri. It is believed Tolton’s father ran off to join the Union during the Civil War but it is fact that Martha took baby Augustus along with his siblings Samuel, Charley and Anne and under Confederate fire crossed the Mississippi and found refuge with Catholics and abolitionists in Quincy, IL.

From an early age Augustus showed an aptitude for learning and despite opposition from the white Catholics, was enrolled in St. Peter’s Catholic School and later attended what is now Quincy University. Augustus felt God’s call to the priesthood deeply but in 1870s America it was unheard of for a black man to be educated in a seminary. With the help of his pastor Fr. McGirr, Augustus was instead enrolled in the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome where he excelled as a student. He was ordained as a priest in 1886 in Rome and celebrated his first Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Returning to Quincy, Fr. Augustus attempted to organize a parish but once again met resistance from both white Catholics and now black Protestants who did not want him either taking away parishioners or making converts. Fr. Augustus, known as “Good Father Gus”, was assigned to Chicago and the task of building St. Monica’s “National Parish” for the city’s African-American Catholics.

Fr. Tolton quickly established a reputation for holiness, charity, warmth and a noted talent for singing and playing the accordion. He became involved in the Colored Catholic Congress and received mention in newspapers across the county for his zeal and devotion to the Church and the protection of the souls entrusted to his care. He traveled to preach missions, raise funds and attend conferences and by his late 30s was already worn down by many illnesses. He collapsed on a Chicago street in the heatwave of 1897 and died on July 9th.

The cause for his sainthood was opened in 2010 and in 2019 Pope Francis advanced Fr. Tolton to the title of Venerable, the next steps being beatification and then canonization.