St. Peter Claver, SJ

rpstoledosj

Sep 9

Today we celebrate the memorial of the Jesuit Fr. Peter Claver. If we were to look at the marker at his tomb, we would find only three dates 1580, 1602, and 1654. The first, 1580, was his birth year, 1602, the year he joined the Jesuits, and 1654, the year he died.

He was born in Catalonia, Spain. After graduating from the University of Barcelona, he joined the Jesuits at Tarragona. He was 22 years old then. During his study of philosophy at Montesión, Palma de Mallorca, he met Brother Alphonsus Rodriguez, the saintly Jesuit porter or receptionist of the Jesuit Residence. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez nurtured the young Jesuit's desire to do something great for God; he encouraged him to become a missionary in the New World, the term then used for the continents of North and South America. Eight years later, in 1610, Peter Claver was missioned to Colombia upon his own request. He completed the rest of his studies for the priesthood at Bogotá. From the highlands of Bogotá, he was assigned to Cartagena, a coastal city on the Caribbean coast; it was almost a thousand kilometers north of Bogotá. He was ordained a priest there.

Cartagena became his lifelong assignment. He ministered to the enslaved, who were brought in from Africa. Those enslaved were in the millions. Over a period of 366 years, it is estimated that at least 12.5 million Africans were enslaved and sold in Europe and the Americas.[1] For purposes of comparison, this is almost 10% of the population of the Philippines. In the context where St. Peter Claver was, it is estimated that between 1595 and 1640, the Portuguese brought to Cartagena about 125,000 enslaved Africans.[2] The enslaved were sold to mine and plantation owners.

The horrors of the trafficking of humans are best illustrated through excerpts from a letter sent by the saint to his Jesuit provincial superior:

To bring good tidings to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (cf. Is. 61: 1)

Yesterday, 30 May 1627, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, a great number of black people who had been seized from along the African rivers were put ashore from one very large vessel. . . We had to force our way through the crowds till we reahed the sick. There was a great number of them, lying on the damp earth, or rather in mud; but someone had formed the idea of making a heap of tiles and broken bricks in case the damp should be too much for them. This was all they had for a bed, all the more uncomfortable because they were naked without any covering at all.

We took off our cloaks, went to a store, brought from there all the wood that was available and put it together to make a plaform; then, forcing a way through the guards, we eventually managed to carry all the sick on to it. Then we separated them into two groups; one of them my companion addressed with an interpreter, the other I spoke to myself.

Two of the black slaves were more dead than alive; they were already cold, and we could hardly feel any pulse in their veins. We got together some glowing embers on a tile, placed the dying men near them, and then threw aromatic spices on the fire. . . Then with the help of our cloaks --- for the slaves have none of their own, and it would have been a waste of time to ask their masters – we got them to inhale the vapours, which seemed to restore their warmth and vitality. You should have seen the expression of gratitude in their eyes.

Letter to his Superior, 31 May 1627. Ed. (in Spanish) A, Valtierra, S.J., San Pedro Claver, Cartagena, 1964, pp. 140 - 141

Those who are ideological purists would probably ask the same question from those who do similar work among the poor and disadvantaged these days. The question would be "Why not address the systemic structures which make these injustices possible?" St Peter Claver would have probably answered this way:

In this way we spoke to them, not with words but with deeds; and for people in their situation who were convinced that they had been brough there to be eaten, any other form of address would have been pointless. Then we sat or knelt beside them and washed their faces and bodies with wine; by such acts of kindness we tried to cheer them up, and performed for them all the natural services which are calculated to raise the spirits of the sick. Letter to his Superior,

31 May 1627. Ed. (in Spanish) A, Valtierra, S.J., San Pedro Claver, Cartagena, 1964, pp. 140 - 141

The example of St. Peter Calver shows that in the face of tremendous injustice, acting to recognize and insist on the humanity of persons whose dignity is violated is never wasted. Especially when the insistence is demonstrated in action rather than screamed and shouted.

It is also mentioned that when hearing confessions, the great ladies were made to wait for hours; they had to wait until he had finished hearing the confessions of the most disadvantaged among the slaves, the black slave-women.

St. Peter Claver kept on ministering to the enslaved, and even to lepers until 1650 when he fell ill, probably due to a stroke or Parkinson's disease. For four years until his death in 1654, he was completely dependent on a slave. The slave not only completely neglected to bathe him but also to tend his sores. The slave also ate the best parts of the meals for the sick priest. But St. Peter Claver never complained, convinced that this was what he deserved.

He was also misunderstood by his contemporaries, even by his religious superiors. A report sent to Rome in 1651 described him as:

Peter Claver. A good disposition. Poor judgment. Lacking in prudence. Little experience of life or affairs. Some progress. Melncholic temperamwent. Remarkable work with the negroes. Great advance in the spiritual life.

A fellow worker reported:

Any time left over from hearing confessions, and from catechising and instructing the negroes, he gave to prayer: he spent much of the night in prayer. . . . saying over and over 'Lord, I love thee very much … very much.

I think the object lesson is that even when we do what is right and according to the Gospel, we cannot expect to be understood even by those who claim to share our faith.

Finally,

Lord, for love of you St. Peter became the faithful servant of slaves. Through his prayers help us to see the true dignity of the human family, all children of one Father, and to spend ourselves for their salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Supplement to the Divine Office for the Society of Jesus. 2nd Edition. 2003, p.69