Date/Time
9/5/2025 - 9/14/2025
None specified
Event Description


This year, we invite our Nobler Order to celebrate Saint Peter Claver's Feast Day on either the weekend prior (September 5-7)  or the weekend following (September 12-14) his Feast Day (September 9).

As the Feast Day's central theme is emulating St. Peter Claver's dedication to serving the poor and enslaved by "speaking to them with our hands" through compassionate action,  we encourage our units across the country to honor his life through:

Prayer & Worship
  • Attend a Special Mass:
    Turnout in regalia at Mass. 
  • Pray for Racial Justice:.
    Engage in prayer for healing from racism and atonement for past sins of racism within the Church and society, as encouraged by our Noble Order and the Catholic Church. 
  • Use the Claver Prayer:
    Recite the Claver Prayer to acknowledge God's love and continue St. Peter Claver's work.
Charitable Service & Community Action
  • Organize Service Projects: Conduct projects inspired by St. Peter Claver's compassion, such as volunteering at food banks, hosting toiletry drives, or visiting the sick and shut-ins. 
  • Volunteer at Homeless Shelters or Hospitals: Offer hands-on assistance to vulnerable populations in your community. 
  • Support Local Youth: Provide tutoring sessions to help youth with their studies. ​
Education & Awareness
  • Highlight Black Saints:
    Use the day to educate members and the community about other Black Catholic Saints and African Americans who are on the path to sainthood. 
  • Host Informative Sessions:
    Organize talks or discussions on current issues facing Black Catholics. 
  • Promote Black Catholic History:
    Hold essay, poetry, or quiz bowl contests focused on Black Catholic history. 
  • Evangelize and Recruit:
    Distribute information about the Knights of Peter Claver and invite non-members to join the Order and become more involved in the Church. 
Social & Fellowship Activities 
  • Host Unit Gatherings:
    Arrange breakfasts, lunches, or dinners for Knights of Peter Claver members and potential members to foster fellowship.
  • Wear KPC Gear:
    Turn out and wear your Knights of Peter Claver gear to raise awareness and demonstrate pride in the Order.
 
 
ABOUT OUR PATRON SAINT, SAINT PETER CLAVER
Saint Peter Claver was born into a wealthy, devout Catholic family.  Noted for his intelligence and piety, he chose to use his blessings to minister to the enslaved rather than to live a life of material and financial prosperity.  Many church and municipal authorities strongly opposed Saint Peter Claver's chosen mission of minister to the spiritual, physical, and mental needs of the enslaved.

Despite the opposition, Saint Peter Claver.
  • Boarded crowded and inhumane slave ships on the ports of Cartagena, Colombia, South America to serve the passengers as soon as they arrived from their traumatic transatlantic voyages that often lasted several months
  • Provided free medicine, food, bread, and basic instructions using interpreters and pictures
  • Baptized over 300,000
  • Annually heard confession from over 5,000
  • Visited plantations, choosing to stay in slave quarters while he encouraged those enslaved to persevere in their faith and advocated for their humane treatment
  • Visited the city square and hospitals, preaching and ministering to the sick, sailors, traders, visitors, condemned criminals, and also the many prosperous citizens of Cartagena
  • Continued his mission for approximately 40 years
  • After caring for so many for so long,  died on September 8, 1654 after four years of being confined to his room with lingering health problems and suffering from neglect by his caretakers
  • Viewed his condition only as a punishment for his sins
  • Was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888
  • Feast Day is recognized on September 9th
Saint Peter Claver's work was inspired by Alonso de Sandoval, who had been ministering to the enslaved for 40 years prior to our patron saint's arrival.
 
There are churches, schools, and missions named in his honor, particularly in predominately African / African-American parishes, throughout the world.

His body is preserved and venerated in the Church of the Jesuit Residence that is now renamed in his honor.
 
 
 
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