The Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Latin: Societas Sodalium Sancti Joseph a Sacra Corde) is a society of Catholicpriests and brothers headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Members use the post-nominal letters SSJ and are called Josephites. They work specifically among African-Americans.
They were formed in 1893 by a group of Mill Hill priests working with newly-freed Black people emancipated during the American Civil War.[7] This group included Fr John R. Slattery, who led the group and would become the first Josephite superior general, and one of the nation's first black priests, Fr Charles Uncles. With permission from the Mill Hill leaders as well as Archbishop of Baltimore Cardinal Gibbons, the group established a mission society independent from Mill Hill, based in America, and dedicated totally to the African-American cause.[8]
In 2011, the society elected its first African-American superior general, Fr William "Bill" Norvel, who helped establish a vocations hub for the society in Nigeria.[9] The two superiors since have also been African American, but as of September 2021 the society's leadership and new seminarians are almost all Nigerians.
It was against this backdrop that the U.S. bishops met for their tenth provincial council in Baltimore, Maryland in 1869. The fifth decree of this council exhorted the Council Fathers to provide missions and schools for all black Americans in their dioceses, as education was seen as a critical need by the community.[8]
Vaughan brought a group of priests to Baltimore in 1871 to form a mission society devoted to freedmen. In 1893, Fr John R. Slattery (a leader within the North American branch of the Mill Hill Fathers) petitioned that they reorganize to create a U.S.-based institution, St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart. The commitment to the African-American apostolate by the new Society was to be the same as before: to teach the faith of the Catholic Church and to promote the Church’s teachings on social justice.[8]
Bishops around the country had varying constituencies of black Catholics during this period, and often too few priests, parishes, and programs to serve them. While this didn't necessarily concern individual bishops, the larger bishops' conference for the country (as seen in the Baltimore council) did take up the cause, establishing a system of missionary work to the black apostolate that was most often filled by groups like the Josephites. As the need arose in a given diocese for black-focused ministry, they would be called in to pastor parishes, staff schools, and establish missionary posts to gain converts.[8]
Initial struggles (1893-1933)
Among the small founding group of Josephite priests in 1893 was Fr. Charles R. Uncles, the first African-Americanpriest ordained in the United States (and the first trained in the United States, with his initial studies at a seminary in Quebec).[8]
Fr Uncles would go on to face unremitting opposition both within and outside the order, as ordaining a black priest and placing one were two entirely different matters. Racist laypeople, priests, and bishops alike soured the new venture, ensuring that black priests were not welcome in local parishes and communities—stifling Slattery's dreams of a booming black priestly class. Instead, black priests like Uncles were relegated to preaching tours in the Deep South, subservient parochial roles, and teaching posts at the Josephite seminary in DC. Meanwhile, the white Josephite priests pressed on, expanding their work across the country.[8]
John Henry Dorsey, SSJ, was ordained in the society on June 21, 1902, becoming just the second black priest ordained in America (after Uncles). He would go on to help found the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909 at Most Pure Heart of Mary in Mobile, Alabama (today the oldest and largest black Catholic organization in the country). He would die tragically, however, in 1923 after being murdered by a student's father.[8][12]
On his part (and mostly due to the unrelenting racism he saw in the US Catholic Church), Slattery would eventually lose hope in the mission, in Catholicism, and in Christianity overall—leaving his post, the priesthood and eventually the faith. He then married and became a successful lawyer, leaving his papers to the New York Public Library upon his death the same year as Dorsey.[8]
Fr Uncles died an outcast within the order in 1933, frustrated by racist circumstances to the point that he no longer considered himself a Josephite at all.[8]
Growth and continued racism (1933-1950)
After the initial experiences with Uncles and a scant few others, subsequent Josephite superior generals were hesitant to accept black candidates to the order at all; they accepted a mulatto here and there, but largely stayed away from the question of black priests even as they continued to work with blacks.[8]
This reticence (and vocational dearth) was noticed by black Catholics themselves, most notably Thomas Wyatt Turner and his Federated Colored Catholics organization. This pressure would not have much effect for many years, but the issue remained on the table as the Josephites continued to grow in both membership and parochial administration.[8]
Louis Pastorelli, the Josephite's longest-serving superior general, throughout the Interwar Period continued the society's policy of restricting black candidates, but cautiously supported other orders' black priesthood efforts—specifically the Divine Word order's plans for a black seminary in Mississippi, which quickly produced four new, well-received black priests.[8]
As more dioceses and orders began to accept black candidates into their priestly formation programs, the Josephites slowly became more open to receiving black candidates without restriction. During the 1940s, Josephite superior general Edward V Casserly instituted official policies allowing more freely for black applicants. During the same period, the order also added 20 parishes and 20 schools—including the all-black (and all-male) St Augustine High in New Orleans, formerly a diocesan school.[8]
Civil Rights and Black Power (1950-1971)
As the door flew open to black priests in the lead-up to the Civil Rights Movement, the Josephite order faced the possibility of changing color, causing consternation among not a few members. One higher-up from the old guard went so far as to institute an explicitly racist policy to prevent black applications from being assessed at all; Casserly quickly called a meeting of the leadership and quashed the overreach. Even so, Casserly's heavy-handed management style made for an abrupt end in 1948 to his tenure as superior general. His successor, Thomas P. McNamara (and McNamara's right-hand man, future superior general George F. O'Dea), would continue the expansion of Josephite activity and black vocations.[8]
After a few decades of positive signs and progress (including the notable saga of oft-arrested Josephite activist Philip Berrigan), the bloody end to the Civil Rights Movement proper presented a new challenge: black radicalism. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr brought issues of racism to a head and fostered a newfound commitment to social justice and Black Power among many black clergy and religious. This began in earnest with the convening of the inaugural National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC), held in Detroit in April 1968, shortly after King's assassination and the resultant riots. It was the first-ever meeting of the nation's black Catholic clergy and produced a statement that in its opening line called the Catholic Church in America "primarily a White, racist institution."[13]
This helped produce calls for more authentic black freedom and expression, as well as black oversight of black parishes and schools, causing tension across the Church—including at St Joseph's Seminary (the Josephite house). Black laypeople would protest at St Joseph's in summer 1971, and eventually a good number of seminarians would leave or be asked to leave altogether, causing the seminary to close for studies that same year. It has never reopened.[8] (Josephite seminarians, retired Josephites and other priests, and outside renters continue to use the building for lodging, and it also houses the Josephite archives, Pastoral Center, library, and other publicly accessible spaces.)
Some of the demands made by laypeople during the period of rupture were in fact met, including the reestablishment of the permanent diaconate, an act which came largely at the behest of a Josephite priest and with a focus on the African-American community.
In June 2011, some 130 years after their founding, the Josephites elected Norvel as their first black superior general.[14] Both of the following superior generals have also been black, including the sitting, Bishop Ricard.[8]
Nigeria
Norvel also established a Josephite house of spiritual formation in Nigeria, where he served for five years and which now produces most of the Josephite's vocations; the society's new seminarians and priests have been almost entirely Nigerian for some time. The society currently operates a minor seminary there, and in 2021 received roughly a dozen new students for the school.
Relocation of headquarters
St Joseph's Manor, which had been the residence of the superior general and other administrators, was sold in January 2019. They now reside nearby in a shared residential and office space, which has functioned as the Josephites headquarters since around 2016.[15]
The headquarters is located in northern Baltimore and their seminarian and retiree residence, St. Joseph Seminary, is in Washington, DC.
In 2012, the society had 40 houses and 88 members, including 76 priests.
In late 2020, Vicar General Fr Thomas Frank reported that the order had 60 members.
The Josephite Harvest (magazine)
The Josephite Harvest is the official magazine of the society, and is the longest-running Catholic missions magazine still in existence in the US today. It first began in 1888, published under the name The Colored Harvest, before changing its name in 1960 to The Josephite Harvest. During the 20th century, The Harvest chronicled the Josephites' efforts to build parishes and schools for African-Americans throughout the nation.[8]
Today, the magazine publishes quarterly and still in a physical format (with digital versions also available).
St Joseph's Seminary
St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, D.C.
St Joseph's, the Josephite seminary, is located in Brookland Washington, D.C., It is one of the many vaunted Catholic institutions in the area, known today for its heavy Catholic influence and presence.
While the seminary closed for academic studies in 1971, it continues to house the Josephite seminarians during the school year, as well as retired Josephites (and other) priests and unaffiliated renters year-round.
Archives
Also found in this building are the Josephite archives, widely regarded as some of the most extensive records of African-American history in the entire country. They were most recently managed by Josephite priest, but after his passing were passed on to a lay archivist (who heavily updated their organization and availability for researchers).
Pastoral Center
The Josephite Pastoral Center (JPC}, also located in the seminary, remains one of the few providers of materials meant specifically for African-American Catholic ministry. The shop is open to the public and sells items ranging from calendars (including the annual Josephite African American history calendar) to artwork to books to music. The JPC was also once the main outpost for the distribution of the "Jesus Mafa" art series, which was originally licensed to the Josephites by its creator. The JPC also manages an online store for its merchandise.
Library
The St Joseph Seminary Library is also significant, housing a number of important artifacts and documents related to both African American and African-American Catholic history. Some of these exhibits are open to the public, while others are undeveloped and largely untouched.
Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was the founder in 1866 of St Joseph's Foreign Missionary Society, known best as the Mill Hill Missionaries. He also founded the Catholic Truth Society and St. Bede's College, Manchester. As Archbishop of Westminster, he led the capital campaign and construction of Westminster Cathedral.
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Charles Randolph Uncles, SSJ, was a African-American Catholic priest. In 1891, he became the first such priest ordained on US soil. Two years later, he co-founded the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, formed to minister to the African American community. As such, he was the first and only African-American to establish a society or order of priests.
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