Let us be bridge-builders like Sr. Thea

I was honored to participate in the closing liturgy and ceremony for Sr. Thea Bowman’s Cause for Canonization in the Diocese of Jackson, Miss. on Feb. 9. This was the end of the diocesan phase of collecting the documentation and narrative of the life of the Servant of God, Sr. Thea. The multiple boxes of materials were sealed and are to be sent to Rome, continuing the process of this Servant of God on the path to becoming a canonized saint.
 
Bishop Joseph Kopacz, of the Diocese of Jackson, preached about this Servant of God and her heroic virtue. Sr. Thea was the granddaughter of slaves born Dec. 29, 1937, in Yazoo City, Miss. She was a convert to Catholicism at the age of nine. She became the first African-American professed in the religious order of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Sr. Thea gave a beautiful, heroic witness through her Gospel preaching, song and dance, storytelling and prayers. She was a bridge-builder, healing racial and cultural divisions. This celebration was not only momentous for the Diocese of Jackson, but also for the Province of Mobile and the Universal Church. Sr. Thea is an inspiration for all and inspires us by her holy life to also be “bridge-builders.” There are still racial and cultural divides. We, living our saintly call, embrace the opportunities to bring peoples together in unity by living the Gospel of goodness, seeing each person as a brother or sister in our human family, working for justice and peace and lifting up all according to their God-given dignity.
 
May we ask Sr. Thea Bowman to intercede for us and may we intercede for one another to be bridge-builders in our own time.