What's Happening

March 26, 2025, Chicago – Sister Jamie Phelps, OP, was honored in early March as Founding Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program. The program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) provides Black Catholics with scholarships and professional and spiritual formation to serve Black Catholics in pastoral ministry.

The program is named after Venerable Father Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), the first recognized Black Catholic priest in the United States. He is among six prominent U.S. Black Catholics whose causes for canonization in the Catholic Church have been opened.

Sister Jamie completed her doctorate from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., before becoming a Professor of Systematic Theology at CTU. “CTU is a graduate theology program that prepares men and women for mission all over the world,” she said. “When I came to CTU, I was delighted because it helped me translate my theological study into something that would help people in their involvement” in the Church’s mission. She served at CTU from 1986 to 1998.

Sister Jamie said she and others at CTU realized that few Black Catholics were involved in ministry among Black Catholic parishioners. The Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program was developed in collaboration with Father Donald Senior, President of CTU, and Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who wanted a place to train Black Catholics in ministry.

“In order to encourage Black participation, we set up the Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program,” along with a scholarship program to provide for tuition and books, Sister Jamie said. “A lot of people were working in the parishes but didn’t have money for the program. I was interested in providing education that grounded them in Catholic theology.” 

Sister Jamie said the program offers a Master’s in Divinity (MDiv) as well as a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS). The MAPS program had a pastoral component, requiring students to participate in practicums in the community and to write about their experience from a theological perspective. 

The goal, Sister Jamie said, was to help students “address the specific needs of Black Catholics in urban settings and to make sense of who God is and who Jesus is in the context of the Black community in the United States in particular.”

Over the years, Sister Jamie said, the program benefited the Black Catholic community. “They have priests, Sisters, and lay people doing more effective, theologically grounded ministry,” she said. Graduates of the program were trained to educate their parishioners about Jesus Christ.

“We developed the method of analysis that was not just left-brain but right-brain,” she explained. “How do you see yourself, your identity in your mission and in your ordinary life? You have to demonstrate your love for Jesus by loving your neighbor. This would compel you to be engaged in justice ministry … helping people to change their behavior to a right relationship with God, neighbor, and self.”

Sister Jamie said the 35th anniversary celebration included dinner and a recognition award for herself as founding director of the program. But she particularly enjoyed the celebration because it brought together former and current faculty members and students of the Tolton Program. “The real highlight for me was seeing [the Tolton Program’s] effects and meeting old colleagues from CTU,” as well as realizing the success of the program: the graduates made a positive impact on Church and society, she said.

During the celebration, she said, “My most profound rejoicing was to recognize that the founding of the Tolton Program was of God – because if it’s of God, it will grow. It has grown and continues to grow.” 

Read more about the celebration and the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program in this article in the Chicago Catholic.

 

Caption for above feature photo: Kim Lymore, Director of Catholic Theological Union’s Tolton Scholars Program, holds a photo of Father Augustus Tolton, the first recognized Black Catholic priest in the United States. Seated in front of her are Sister Jamie Phelps, OP, center, with two current Tolton Scholars: Gardis Watts, left, and Kianda Boyd.
Photo Courtesy of Catholic Theological Union
 

September 5, 2023, Waterford, Connecticut – As they begin a new year of teaching religion to children, where can catechists turn for help and inspiration? Sister Janet Schaeffler, OP, offers an answer in her latest book, Saints and Mentors for Catechists. 

Referring to the Catholic belief in the Communion of Saints – the connection between those of us on Earth and those who have gone before us – Sister Janet writes in her introduction of the support we can find in saints. “As catechists in today’s church, we have the assurance that we are surrounded by those who have lived, experienced, and shared the word of God throughout the centuries by their words and their lives.”

In her book, Sister Janet shares the stories of saints who spread the faith as catechists in earlier times of Christianity. She also offers reflection questions to help catechists realize the dignity of their role in sharing the Word of God.

An Adrian Dominican Sister, retreat leader, and consultant for catechists and adult faith formation leaders, Sister Janet once served as Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Detroit. She received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL). 

Sister Janet has written numerous catechist books and resources, including Spirituality for Catechists and The Creed: A Catechist’s Guide. She also writes annual Advent reflection booklets.

Saints and Mentors for Catechists is available at the Weber Center Shop at the Adrian Motherhouse Campus and from Twenty-Third Publications. Weber Center Shop is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The shop is closed for lunch from noon to 12:45 p.m. The book can also be ordered by calling 517-266-4035 or emailing [email protected].