Saint of the Day

01 · Read · A life to discover

St. Peter Claver

Peter Claver was a Spanish Jesuit who devoted decades of ministry in Cartagena to Africans brought across the Atlantic in slavery. After arriving in the Americas in 1610 and completing his formation, he was ordained in Cartagena in 1616. He met arriving ships, brought provisions, attended to wounds, and relied on interpreters to communicate.

During his formation in Majorca, the Jesuit brother Alphonsus Rodríguez encouraged his missionary vocation. In Cartagena, interpreters who had themselves experienced slavery were essential collaborators. Communication and practical care depended on their knowledge as well as Claver's own commitment.

People arriving in the port often remained only briefly before being sold onward. This imposed severe limits on instruction and follow-up. Remembering those circumstances avoids presenting mass baptism statistics as a complete account of the lives, freedom, or spiritual experience of the people he served.

His work included Christian instruction and baptism, as well as visits to hospitals and prisons. It took place within the violent system of colonial slavery; caring for its victims should not be confused with having ended that system. Claver’s life is remembered for sustained personal service to people treated as commodities.

This saint is included on this recurring date in the U.S. Roman Rite calendar published by the USCCB. This reading guide gives U.S. calendar saints priority; the Mass celebrated on a particular year’s date can differ because of Sundays, seasons or higher-ranking celebrations.