Father Augustine Tolton, America’s first black priest, is getting a shrine

Father Augustine Tolton, America’s first publicly recognized black priest, who is just two miracles short of being declared a saint by the pope, is set to get his own shrine on the site of the shuttered St. Boniface Church in Quincy, Illinois, where he offered his first public mass.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield announced plans for the shrine to Tolton, who escaped slavery to live a life of faith, just outside St. Boniface Church, located at 641 Maine Street, on Wednesday.

While St. Boniface Church has been closed since 2020, the Diocese of Springfield said the church will be restored and reopened to the public.

“This is an extraordinary moment not only for our area, but for the Catholic Church in our country,” Paprocki said in a statement. “To restore St. Boniface as a shrine dedicated to Father Tolton means preserving sacred history while creating a living place of prayer, hope, and renewal — all tied to a holy priest whose life is an example of authentic discipleship of Christ. This shrine will place Quincy firmly on the spiritual map for pilgrims seeking inspiration, healing, and deeper faith.”

Tolton was born into slavery in 1854. In 1862, when he was just 8, he escaped with his mother and siblings across the Mississippi River to Illinois. They eventually settled in Quincy, where he attended St. Peter’s Catholic School and heard the call to become a priest.

Since no American seminary would accept a black man at the time, Tolton went to Rome, where he studied and was ordained a priest. He was later sent back to Quincy to minister and received “a hero’s welcome,” the Diocese of Springfield said.

He quickly became known for his preaching and singing and was transferred to Chicago. He later died of heatstroke on July 9, 1897, at age 43. He is currently buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Quincy.

In June 2019, Tolton’s posthumous march toward sainthood began when Pope Francis declared him “Venerable,” meaning he is officially recognized as living a life of heroic virtue by the Catholic Church.

The push to canonize Tolton was formally opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2010, and all that is needed now for him to be declared a saint are two miracles in the four-step process.

One documented miracle attributed to Tolton’s intercession would make him “Blessed,” while a second would lead to sainthood.

“Father Tolton’s own struggles pose a shining example of how to grapple with disappointment, protracted disappointments that constrain our lives, as well as how to endure when endurance may appear illogical,” Bishop Joseph Perry, the retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, who is leading the cause for Tolton’s canonization, said in a statement.

“In the end, his faith, hope, and love were found intact.”

Efforts are now underway to raise an estimated $5 million to renovate St. Boniface Church, along with an additional $5 million to $7 million to expand the campus and establish an endowment to care for the shrine in perpetuity.

“This shrine will only be possible through the generosity of the faithful,” said Father Steven Arisman, who is leading the fundraising effort as the chairman of the Committee for the Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton. “I encourage Catholics everywhere to prayerfully consider supporting this project. By helping build this shrine, you are helping preserve Father Tolton’s legacy and offering future generations a place where hearts can be lifted to God and lives transformed by grace.”

“Father Tolton overcame the odds of slavery, prejudice, and racism to become a humble priest and someone after whom we should model our lives,” Paprocki added. “He carried his crosses in life quietly and heroically. What a source of great pride to have the nation’s first black priest and someone who is on his way to sainthood live and minister in our diocese, in Quincy. His life truly shows that all of us — no matter how ordinary we think we are — can do extraordinary things and live a heroic Christian life.”