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In Flatbush, Afrocentric Black Catholics Gather in Praise and Worship

Those gathered at a Mass on Nov. 17 at St. Lisieux Parish, Flatbush, dressed in traditional African dress to celebrate black Catholic culture.
Black Catholic History Month Celebrating Steadfast Witness
November Black Catholic History Month Photo: The Catholic Standard/Mihoko Owada

Whenever Shaniqua Wilson brings The Voices of Praise Ensemble or Ecclesia Dance Ministry to Mass, she inevitably gets asked, "Are they Catholic?"

The Gospel choir-like singing strikes people as out of place in a Catholic church, and liturgical dance is unfamiliar to many. But Wilson said the groups that led the faithful in worship at the Diocese of Brooklyn's National Black Catholic History Month Mass at St. Therese of Lisieux, Flatbush, on Nov. 17 are indeed Catholic.

"It is a result of everything that John Paul II asked us to do in the early '80s and bring our authentic blackness to the church and bring all of our gifts to the church," she said.

To read the full story in The Tablet, go here.




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