September Saints

                               Peter Claver
                                   1581-1654
     Peter Claver was born in 1581 at Verdu, Spain. His parents were poor farmers. They sacrificed every penny to send him to the seminary. At the age of 20 he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragna. Two years later he took his full vows. While studying philosophy he met Alphonsus Rodriguez who urged him to go to the new world. In 1610 he landed in a seaport in Cartagena, Colombia. Peter remained there for forty-four years.

    At the seaport in Cartagena he saw all the Negroes that came by the hundreds to be sold as slaves. Father Claver felt great pity for them and decided to help and convert them. Every time a shipload of Negroes came he went aboard and gave them medicine and food. He taught them about Christ and Baptized many. The heat was extreme but he persevered through all the hardships. Many people tried to stop him, but he still continued. Others criticized him and said that it was a waste of time and that the Negroes would loose their faith easily. Over the years Father Claver managed to Baptize more than 300,000 people. He even talked to the slave owners to watch over the souls of their slaves because they too were children of God.

   In 1650, the Plague struck South America. Father Claver helped the people that had the plague until he also became sick. He had to stay in bed for four years and could not say mass. Many people forgot about him. On September 8th on the feast day of the Birth of Mary, Peter Claver died. Everyone in the town realized they had lost a saint and never forgot him thereafter. He was canonized a saint by Pope Leo XIII on 1888. Father Claver is patron of African-Americans, Colombia, missions, and Negro-missions.