This week, on a special Mardi Gras episode, “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian speak with Dr. Ansel Augustine. Ansel is the assistant director for African American affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the author of Praying with Our Feet: Encountering God in the Margins. They discuss the harrowing and sacred culture of the Black Masking Indians of Mardi Gras.

Chapters:

0:00 Mardi Gras!
4:00 New York City has a new bishop
10:17 Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
11:44 Catholic leaders respond to racist post
13:50 Villanova and Notre Dame basketball in Rome!
15:14 History of Black masking culture
21:24 African Americans made Catholicism their own
24:02 Mardi Gras as sacred ritual
27:00 Tribal competition
29:10 Black and Indian cultural encounter
31:30 Hurricane Katrina is an open wound
34:04 The art of feasting
37:32 Diversity ministry is a challenge
45:24 Lenten resources and practices for 2026!

Links for further reading: 

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A podcast for saints and sinners from America Media. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis.