Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church issued the following announcement on Sept. 9.

St. Peter Claver was born in Spain in 1580 to a poor family. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, entered the Jesuit novitiate at in 1602, and took his final vows two years later. While studying philosophy at Majorca, the young religious was influenced by St. Alphonsus Rodriguez to go to the Caribbean and minister to slaves.

In 1610, he landed in modern-day Colombia, the principle slave market of the New World, where about one thousand slaves landed every month. After his ordination in 1616, he dedicated himself by special vow to the service of African slaves, a vocation that was to last for thirty-three years.

Boarding slave ships as they entered the harbor, St. Peter Claver would offer whatever refreshments he could afford and care for the sick and dying. He would also instruct the slaves with African catechists before administering the Sacraments. Through his efforts, 300,000 souls entered the Church. He didn't lose sight of his converts when they left the ships. Instead, he followed them to the plantations to which they were sent, encouraged them to live as Christians, and encouraged their masters to treat them humanely until his death in 1654. (Source: "The Catholic Encyclopedia")

St. Peter Claver, pray for us!

Original source can be found here.