Thea Bowman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bertha Elizabeth Bowman (1937-12-29)December 29, 1937 Yazoo City,Mississippi,United States |
| Died | March 30, 1990(1990-03-30) (aged 52) Canton, Mississippi,United States |
Mary Thea Bowman,FSPA (bornBertha Elizabeth Bowman; December 29, 1937 – March 30, 1990) was aBlack Catholicreligious sister, teacher, musician,liturgist and scholar who made major contributions to the ministry of theCatholic Church towardAfrican Americans.
She became anevangelist among her people, assisted in the production of an African-American Catholichymnal, and was a popular speaker on faith andspirituality in her final years, in addition to recording music. She also helped found theNational Black Sisters' Conference to provide support for African-American women in Catholicreligious life. She died of cancer in 1990.
In 2018, theDiocese of Jackson opened her cause forsainthood and she was designated aServant of God.
Bowman was born inYazoo City, Mississippi, in 1937. Her paternal grandfather (Edward Bowman) had been born aslave, but her father (Theon Edward Bowman) was a physician and her mother (Mary Esther Coleman) a teacher. She was raised in aMethodist home but, with her parents' permission, converted to theCatholic faith at the age of nine. Bowman attended Holy Child Jesus School inCanton, Mississippi, where she met her classmateFlonzie Brown Wright.[1][2]
She became the first African-American member of theFranciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration atLa Crosse, Wisconsin at age 15, overcoming her parents' objections. Bowman was also part of thecivil rights movement.[3]
As part of herreligious formation, Bowman attendedViterbo University, which is run by hercongregation, and earned aB.A. in English in 1965.[4] She went on to attendThe Catholic University of America inWashington, D.C., where she earned anM.A. in English in 1969 and aPh.D. in English in 1972, writing herdoctoralthesis onThomas More, titledThe Relationship of Pathos and Style in A Dyalogue of Comforte Agaynste Tribulacyon: A Rhetorical Study.[5][6]
While studying for her master's at CUA, Bowman became a founding member of theNational Black Sisters' Conference, inaugurated inPittsburgh in 1968 following theassassination ofMartin Luther King Jr.[7] She remained active in the group throughout her life.
Bowman taught at an elementary school inLa Crosse, Wisconsin, and then at Holy Child Jesus Catholic School, heralma mater. She later taught at her otheralmae matres,Viterbo College in La Crosse and theCatholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as well as atXavier University of Louisiana inNew Orleans.[4]
In his bookEleven Modern Mystics, Victor M. Parachin, ameditation teacher, notes Bowman's impact upon Catholicliturgical music in providing an intellectual, spiritual, historical, and cultural foundation for developing and legitimizing a distinct worship form for Black Catholics. Bowman had explained: "When we understand our history and culture, then we can develop the ritual, the music and the devotional expression that satisfy us in the Church."[8]
Bowman became instrumental in the 1987 publication of a new Catholichymnal,Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal, the first such work directed to the Black community.James P. Lyke,Auxiliary Bishop ofCleveland, himself an African-American, coordinated the hymnal project, saying it was born of the needs and aspirations of Black Catholics. Bowman was actively involved in selecting hymns to be included, as well as her essay, "The Gift of African American Sacred Song." In it, she wrote, "Black sacred song is soulful song" and described it in five ways:
After Bowman had spent 16 years in education, theBishop of Jackson invited her to become a consultant for intercultural awareness in hisdiocese. She then became more directly involved withministry to her fellow African-Americans, and began giving inspirational talks to Black congregations and found tremendous response from her audiences. She brought her "ministry of joy" to people as farNigeria andKenya, toCanada, theVirgin Islands toHawaii,New York, andCalifornia.[4] She called on Catholics to celebrate their differences and to retain their cultures, but to reflect their joy at being one in Christ, a joy which her audiences found her exhibiting to a remarkable degree, including with those of other faiths.[10] In his bookHope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line,[11] Christopher Pramuk wrote:
Arguably no person in recent memory did more to resist and transform the sad legacy of segregation and racism in the Catholic Church than Thea Bowman ... who inspired millions with her singing and message of God's love for all races and faiths. Sister Thea awakened a sense of fellowship in people both within and well beyond the Catholic world, first and foremost through her charismatic presence.[12]
Bowman was diagnosed withbreast cancer in 1984, after which she began rigorous treatments but maintained a robust speaking schedule. As her illness progressed, her fame grew and she made several overseas trips sponsored by friends, including visits toWest Africa andLourdes, France. She also became a household name in mainstream media, appearing on national news outlets and even being filmed for a documentary on her life after a terminal diagnosis.
During an appearance on the show60 Minutes withMike Wallace, she prodded him into saying "Black is beautiful" and she said:
I think the difference between me and some people is that I'm content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle we'd have a tremendous light.[10]
In 1989, shortly before her death, in recognition of her contributions to the service of the Church, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Religion byBoston College inMassachusetts.[4]
Just months before her death from cancer, Bowman spoke in 1989 to American Catholic bishops from her wheelchair,[13] and they "powerfully and visibly moved, applauded her. When she had finished, they stood linking arms and singing as Bowman led them in the spiritual, 'We Shall Overcome'."[14]Harry Belafonte met her inMississippi that year, hoping to do a film on her life withWhoopi Goldberg portraying her, though the project did not materialize.[15]
Less than a week before her death, theUniversity of Notre Dame announced that it would award Bowman the 1990Laetare Medal. It was presentedposthumously at their 1990 commencement exercises.[16] She died on March 30, 1990, aged 52, inCanton, Mississippi, and was buried with her parents inMemphis, Tennessee.[17]
The 25th anniversary of Bowman’s death brought forth numerous tributes.[18][19] Her 1988 albums,Songs of My People and 'Round the Glory Manger, initially released on stereoaudiocassette by theDaughters of St. Paul, were re-released in 2020 for the 30th anniversary of her death under the title,Songs of My People: The Complete Collection.
Boston College instituted the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American), which in 2015 inaugurated an annual Thea Bowman Legacy Day. At the inaugural event of the legacy day, the keynote speaker mentioned how Bowman had stressed the importance of education for Blacks, and how she had legitimized a distinct form of worship for Black Catholics.[20]
Shortly before her death, the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation was established to raise scholarship money on a national scale for underserved students of color, who sought post-secondary education but did not have the means to attend – an endeavor Bowman saw as key to raising up the Black people.[21] She conceived of the foundation as early as 1984 and articulated its mission for the students: "Walk with us. Don't walk behind us and don't walk in front of us; walk with us."[22] The vision was brought to life in 1989 by founder Mary Lou Jennings under the guidance and direction of Sister Thea Bowman. By 2015, it had put more than 150 African American students through college.[3]
The cause for Bowman’scanonization was opened by the Diocese of Jackson in mid-2018, giving her the official designation “Servant of God”, the first of four steps toward the Church’s official recognition of a saint.[23][24][25] At theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2018 Fall General Assembly, the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance indicated unanimous support for the advancement of Bowman's canonization cause on the diocesan level.[26]
Bowman ... was declared a servant of God on May 15
2018 01-JUN: Sister Thea is declared a Servant of God
In 2017 Sister Thea was incorrectly identified as a Servant of God, with her cause for canonization open.
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