As most Catholics know, there is, today, a great shortage of priests who are able and willing to offer the Traditional Latin Mass. One of the reasons for this shortage is that many young men who would like to prepare for the priesthood do not have the means to do so. To assist such needy Seminarians is the purpose of The Saint Peter Claver Society.

About Saint Peter Claver: He was born in 1581 in Catalonia, Spain. At age 20, he entered the Society of Jesus, and he was sent to study at the Jesuit College in Majorca. Here he met a humble lay brother Alphonsus Rodriguez who was the porter of the College. Peter was instructed by Alphonsus in the Science of the Saints. It was Alphonsus who predicted that Peter would later work among the slaves in Cartagena, Colombia.

After his priestly ordination Peter was sent to help Fr. Alfonso de Sandoval, a great Jesuit missionary who had spent forty years in the service of the miserable Africans who were

 
taken by force to become slaves of the New World. Peter threw himself into the work of caring for the slaves who were at the point of death since they had been shut up in crowded slaves ships for many weeks. Peter was principally concerned about their spiritual needs. He used interpreters to teach the slaves the rudiments of the Catholic faith and to prepare them for baptism. During his ministry, it is estimated that he baptized over 300,000 of these slaves and brought them to the knowledge and love of God.

After a very active apostolic life among the slaves, Peter became ill in 1650 and almost died from the plague, which was attacking Cartagena. This illness forced him to be almost inactive until his death in 1654. Although he had spent his life in the service of others, he was almost completely forgotten and neglected in his last years. He bore this humbly and patiently. When he died the whole city reflected on his heroic life and a very great crowd came in tremendous numbers to his funeral. Pope Leo XIII canonized St. Peter Claver and St. Alphonsus Rodriguez at the same time in 1888. The same Pope declared Saint Peter Claver the heavenly patron of all missionary activities among the Negroes.