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

Brazilian Cardinal Leonardo Steiner told America that Pope Leo would carry forward Pope Francis' legacy of synodality in the church.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 29, 2025
Like my discernment to enter religious life, it was a gut reaction I acted on and did not look back.
Rose RucobaMay 29, 2025
Pope Francis shares a laugh with Margaret Karram, president of the Focolare movement, at the end of a meeting with participants in an interreligious conference sponsored by the movement at the Vatican June 3, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Margaret Karram, president of the Rome-based Focolare movement, visited the United States to discuss current issues in peacemaking.
Connor HartiganMay 29, 2025
Nazario Gerardi plays Francis in “The Little Flowers of St. Francis” (The Criterion Collection)
We should seek to live simply, to take only what we need and share what we have, to see ourselves in kinship with all of creation.
John DoughertyMay 29, 2025