Reverend Fernand Joseph Cheri, III, OFM, Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans, died March 21, 2023. He was 71 years of age. He has been called home to the Lord. We mourn his death and thank God for his life and ministry. May he rest in the arms of the risen Christ.”

Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange is among six African American Catholics on the road to sainthood, and recently her cause was accepted by the Vatican.

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, a native of Ireland who spent most of his four decades as a priest ministering in LA’s inner city, has died. He was 69. “I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles in a statement Feb. 18. “It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.” He served as a leader and advocate of The Task Force on Racism. “Bishop Dave,” as he was known, was episcopal vicar for the archdiocese’s San Gabriel Pastoral Region since 2015, when Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop. In his statement, Archbishop Gomez said O’Connell will be remembered as “a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother.” “He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” the archbishop said.

Nate Tinner-Williams explores the tragic intersection of modern slavery and African Americans, and the tepid national response. NATE TINNER-WILLIAMS February 8, 2023
Today, February 8, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, the first and only Black Catholic canonized thus far in the 21st century. It has also been the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking since 2015, when it was dedicated as such by Pope Francis.

Mary J. Novak and Joan F. Neal January 31, 2023
On January 30, the National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC) published a powerful statement addressing the murder of 29-year old Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers. We join the NBSC in grieving the loss of Tyre Nichols’ life and calling for the immediate passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and reforms to policing at all levels. (Picture Courtesy NBC News)