Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The Gloria Purvis PodcastNovember 22, 2022
Pilgrims attend a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Sept. 17, 2022, marking the 25th anniversary of the Our Mother of Africa Chapel. (CNS photo/Patrick Ryan for the National Black Catholic Congress via Catholic Standard)

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with the Rev. Thomas Burke, the pastor of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, Pa., about the importance of establishing personal parishes for Black Catholics.

When Bishop David Zubik first announced the creation of this personal parish, there was a negative response from some white Catholics who didn’t understand the need for a liturgy and community that reflected the unique cultural legacy of Black Catholics.

To those critical of the parish, Father Burke says: “Go check it out and see why it’s Catholic. It’s not so much going on the bandwagon of wokeness, of separating the Blacks from the whites in creating a personal parish.”

Instead, it is about recognizing the richness that Black Catholics bring to the liturgy, he adds “the atmosphere, the welcoming-ness, the music, the family aspect of it and to celebrate the culture, I think is a learning lesson.”

The latest from america

Frank Turnbull, S.J., a longtime editor at 'America' who died earlier this week, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life.
James T. KeaneJuly 18, 2025
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Zac Davis
Zac DavisJuly 18, 2025
Trauma-informed spirituality knows better than to promise that prayer will take away all the pain. But it can offer the hope that, even in the midst of pain, there can be moments of feeling whole.
Nicole KirpalaniJuly 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel’s leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire.