“McNamara’s Vlog”: Race, Religion, and the Healy Brothers, 1830-1910

Friends, here is a video I created some time ago, which relates to Black Catholic History Month. It’s a brief account of the Healy Brothers, the first Black priests ordained in the United States. Unfortunately, they had to hide their heritage because of the prevailing racism of the time. (In 1886, Father Augustus Tolton became the first Catholic priest to publicly identify as African American.) It’s a story of tragedy and triumph. Hope you enjoy it!

Here also is an article I wrote on the Healy brothers a few years ago, which I think is worth mentioning.