We attended Mass last Sunday at St. Martin de Porres’s, one of the two parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese designated to serve Black Catholics. The pastor of this Church, a Capuchin priest. I realized at the end of Church that it was Black Catholic history month. At the end of the Mass the pastor also announced that the Capuchin’s would no longer be ministering at St. Martin de Porres. The Archdiocese would be taking over ministry at the Church and what that means has yet to be revealed.
[[Main/TheCatholicChurchInNorthCentralMilwaukee | The Catholic Church in North Central Milwaukee has a history of separating black Catholics from White Catholics. Early in the 20th century when there was a growing number of Black Catholics in the downtown area that were not welcomed by new Jesuit Catholic Church downtown, the Capuchins were called in by the Archbishop to create an African American Catholic Church and school, nearby called St. Benedict the Moore Mission Church. The mission church was declared a “church without borders” so all African Americans in the city could attend it. Later when the Black Catholic population expanded and was moving more into North Central Milwaukee the Bishop at the time once again called in the Capuchins to create an African American church called “Blessed Martin de Porres.” As the whites fled North Central Milwaukee and the blacks moved in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee closed down or merged Catholic Churches until there were only two.
During these times the percentage of African Americans in North Central Milwaukee kept growing but the percentage of Black Catholics seriously declined. It is not difficult these days to find African Americans that were Catholic and now with the present generation there are even less. These racial bias against African Americans on the north side reflects the discrimination and racism that is rampant in Milwaukee but does not reflect the values and principles of equality in the Catholic Church.
The pastor Sunday hinted that the Archdiocese already had plans to diminish the ministry at St. Martin de Porres but would not reveal the plan at this time. Some of us know from the closing of our Catholic Church in North Central Milwaukee, Blessed Trinity that was a merged Church, the Archdiocese likes people to think they have an impact of decision when in reality they do not.
Earlier this year the popular pastor of the other designated Black Catholic church in Milwaukee was removed and the Archdiocese made it clear that this would be the one Catholic Church for Black Catholics. These moves will make it harder to be Black and Catholic in Milwaukee but does the hierarchical Church in Milwaukee really care? The Archdiocese celebrates Catholic History Month with the loss of more Black Catholics.
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