“Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.” (1 Cor 9:19)
St. Peter Claver (1580-1654) was born in Catalonia in Spain, and after joining the Jesuits, spent his whole priestly life in Colombia, ministering almost exclusively to enslaved peoples from Africa. When writing out his final vows as a Jesuit, St. Peter added a personal vow to be the slave of the slaves for the rest of his life. In a world in which men treated these men and women with brutality and vicious neglect, St. Peter sought to care for them personally one by one. Whenever he heard of a new slave ship arriving, he would find out where the people were from, then find an interpreter to accompany him in a small boat to go out to the ship. He would beg for alms, purchase clothes, food, and medicine for the enslaved men and women on the ships and then spend days caring for them before they made it to the town to be quarantined. Once they were in quarantine, St. Peter would continue his visits, bringing someone who spoke their language, bringing medicine and food, and telling them about the Catholic Faith. When there were no new ships, St. Peter spent his days hearing confessions of African men and women, from dawn until 11am when he would say Mass for them, and then from 2pm until 9pm when the Jesuit house would close for the day. In this personal ministry, St. Peter could continue to care spiritually by those for whom he had cared materially. In the spring, St. Peter would leave the town and go to visit the farms where many of the enslaved people labored. When offered comfortable lodging and food by the Spaniards, St. Peter would ask to be housed in the quarters of the enslaved people who were sick, and then would take the food and give it to the sick to help them recover their strength. He died at the age of 74, after estimating that he had been able to baptize 300,000 persons, and offer material and spiritual care to even more.
Christ says, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Lk 6:40) Jesus spent his days caring for the souls and bodies of those whom so many others overlooked and neglected and even treated with violence and contempt. St. Peter looked around the society of his day and sought to train to be a disciple who followed his Teacher and become like Him in loving those whom Christ loves. May we have the courage to look with Christ’s eyes at those around us and their needs, and to serve Him in serving them. St. Peter Claver, pray for us!