Peter Claver

Born on June 26, 1580, in Verdú, Catalonia, Spain, Peter Claver came from a prosperous farming family. He studied at the University of Barcelona before entering the Society of Jesus in 1602. Inspired by the exhortations of Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, he felt a calling to serve in the missions of the Indies. He arrived in Cartagena de Indias (present-day Colombia), then a major transatlantic slave trade port, in 1610. Ordained a priest in 1616, he dedicated the rest of his life to ministering to the African slaves who arrived in horrific conditions. He personally boarded slave ships, bringing them food, water, medicine, and spiritual comfort. He learned several African dialects to communicate directly with them. Over 40 years, he baptized and catechized an estimated 300,000 enslaved people. He often signed himself "Petrus Claver, Aethiopum semper servus" (Peter Claver, slave of the slaves forever), reflecting his unconditional devotion. Ill in his later years, he died on September 8, 1654, in Cartagena, during an epidemic. Beatified in 1851 and canonized in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII, he remains a powerful symbol of Christian charity in the face of the horrors of slavery.