Black Catholic group convenes in St. Louis

BY MARGARET GILLERMAN

Mary O'Basuyi slipped on her white gloves and straightened her sash with the golden cross.




Osagie V. O'Basuyi, her husband, donned his chapeau with the pale blue feather and his black cape, both symbols of honor for a knight of the highest degree.



The two systems engineers from Dayton, Ohio, then joined hundreds of fellow African-American knights and ladies in Sunday morning's grand traditional processional opening the 95th annual convention of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary. More than 1,000 members of the African-American Catholic fraternal organization are in St. Louis for the event, which is drawing priests, lay Catholics and bishops from around the country.



St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson and Mayor Francis Slay are among the speakers at the convention, which opened Sunday with a Gospel Mass at the Millennium Hotel downtown. The convention ends Wednesday.



The Knights of Peter Claver was founded in 1909 in Mobile, Ala., because black men at the time were barred from other organizations in the Roman Catholic Church. It's named for a Spanish priest who ministered to slaves in Cartagena, Colombia, in the 1600s, and converted 300,000 to Catholicism. Today the Knights are in 400 parishes and have about 19,000 members worldwide.



The O'Basuyis, who grew up as Catholics in Nigeria, have been active for 23 years. Osagie O'Basuyi said he likes the opportunity to "feed the hungry, help poor people and support our priests and parishes."



In his homily Sunday morning, Carlson told worshippers that he had just become "the latest knight of Peter Claver."



"Take care to guard against all greed," he said, quoting Luke 12:15. Carlson told worshippers that success is not about material possessions, honors or a job but instead is spiritual and through the heart.



"There is no U-Haul trailer following the hearse," he said, quoting his own father.



Supreme Knight Gene A Phillips of Opelaus. La., said the charitable organization raises money for the United Negro College Fund. It recently has been educating poor people about environmental health hazards. On Saturday, members took part in a service project at Missionaries of Charity in St. Louis and will donate to a local charity helping babies, said spokeswoman Lisa Lombard.