What constitutes sainthood? How are saints “made”? Four U.S. Catholics of African descent are in the formal process of consideration for canonization as saints. This lecture highlights Henriette DeLille, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family. DeLille’s compelling story sheds light on the multifaceted injustices and struggles that have marked U.S. black Catholic experience; her witness illumines holiness as an embodied affirmation of one’s God-given dignity and worth, impelling concrete action to defend and serve those neighbors most at risk.

Internationally known scholar M. Shawn Copeland, Ph.D., has served as convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. She is the author of the books Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being (Fortress Press, 2010) andThe Subversive Power of Love: The Vision of Henriette DeLille (Paulist Press, 2009), along with scores of articles, reviews, and book chapters.

Co-sponsored by the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies and the Department of African and African American Studies.