Servant of God Mary Thea Bowman

Born: December 29, 1937
Death: March 30, 1990
Cause for Canonization Opened: November 14, 2018
Declared Servant of God: 2018

Servant of God Mary Thea Bowman, F.S.P.A. (née Bertha Elizabeth), born in Mississippi in 1937 an only child to middle-aged parents, she was raised Protestant until age 9 when she converted to Catholicism after encountering the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity as they taught at her school, the Holy Child Jesus Church and School. She grew up steeped in the richness of her African-American culture and spirituality and at age 15 she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, the only African-American member in her religious community. She took the name Mary after the Blessed Mother, and Thea in honor of her father, Theon. Highly educated, she earned her B.A. in English from Viterbo College, a Ph.D. in English, Literature and Linguistics from Catholic University of America, and an honorary Doctorate in Religion from Boston College. She went on to teach for 16 years — all grade levels, including college. While caring for her aging parents, in 1978, she accepted the position to direct the Office of Intercultural Affairs for the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. She gave presentations across the country — gatherings that combined singing, Gospel preaching, prayer and storytelling — with the aim of breaking down racial and cultural barriers. In 1984, after the death of both her parents, she was diagnosed with breast cancer but continued her gatherings while confined to a wheelchair. Invited to speak at the U.S.C.C.B’s meeting in 1989, she spoke about being Black and Catholic.

Read her life of joy-filled love for the Lord and those around her, even amidst racial prejudice here.

Resources:

Prayer for the Canonization of Sister Mary Thea Bowman
Documentary Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood (see below)

Servant of God Mary Thea Bowman

American Servants of God and Blesseds