Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman
Thea was born in 1937 in Mississippi. A granddaughter of slaves, her community was an inspiration to her, and “exposed [her] to the richness of African American culture and spirituality”. Baptized Episcopalian and raised Methodist, she moved to La Crosse, WI in order to join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration convent in 1953. Thea Bowman was the first African-American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse.
“I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African-American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as gift to the Church.”
Sister Thea began to advocate for racial integration in the Catholic Church. She co-founded the National Black Sisters Conference at Catholic University of America. After receiving her doctorate in English, Thea went on to teach at Viterbo University in La Crosse, where she formed singing groups comprised of African American students.
Sister Thea later moved to Louisiana to teach at Xavier University where she helped found the Institute for Black Catholic Studies and taught for the remainder of her teaching career. In 1984 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was eventually confined to a wheelchair until her death in 1990. She also helped to create the hymnal Lead me, Guide Me.
Sister Thea was the first African-American woman to address the US Council of Catholic Bishops conference where, in 1988, she moved participants to hold hands and sway together while singing a traditional spiritual song, “We Shall Overcome.”
Photo taken at Walsh University event held on September 18, 1989. KatieHutchison
She was in a wheelchair as her body battled cancer, yet she confidently gave instructions to the bishops to cross their arms and grasp hands so that they were close enough to touch shoulders. She likened the closeness to Civil Rights protests, in which African Americans had to stand strong together against dogs, tear gas, tanks, and bullets. She noted that clergy members would stand in the frontlines, urging their people to stay strong and faithful.
What struck you most from her story? Why?
Additional Resources:
Sr. Thea Bowman, FSPA: What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? video by St. JW. Watch Sr. Thea Bowman give testimony on her life’s experiences.
Sr. Thea Bowman page from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in LaCrosse, WI
Sr. Thea Bowman by My Catholic Kids page designed for youth to learn about Sr. Thea.