Blacks and Catholics are joint ventures at Chicago parish

National Catholic Reporter, March 13, 1998 by Robert McClory

When Pfleger became pastor in 1981, longtime parishioner Len Richardson wondered, "Was all this energy and zest just a facade?" Quickly, Richardson came to see that "everything was real," and his life has changed. Now a permanent deacon, he recalls the time "when being Catholic and being black were two separate things in my life. Catholicism was mainly performing certain duties, accepting rules from up above. "I've been awakened tO how my religion and my culture fit together. I've been empowered."

Empowerment seems to happen all week at this parish. Since he came, Pfleger and groups of parishioners have been involved in Friday night anti-gang and anti-drug marches around this poor to middle-class black community during the spring and summer.

The marches have resulted in a substantial decrease in criminal activity and the shutdown of several stores specializing in drug paraphernalia. The parish has generated national notice for its long campaign to restrict billboards pushing the sale of cigarettes and liquor -- virtually the only products advertised outdoors in the black community. When billboard owners rejected the demands, Pfleger and others began defacing their signs. Charged with destruction of property, Pfleger was tried in criminal court in 1991 and acquitted by a jury.

Because of repeated threats against his life for his aggressive anti-gang, anti-business stance, Pfleger has been a police bodyguard for many years. The sprawling parish complex seems never to sleep. Sessions for "new believers," about 50 of whom are preparing to enter the church at any one time, are held weekly, as are weekly Bible study meetings, which draw up to 200 people.

In addition, a plethora of organizations dealing with everything from alcohol and drug recovery to intercessory prayer, as well as various choirs, sisterhoods, brotherhoods, teenage groups, outreach to the poor groups and revival groups meet regularly on every square inch of church property, especially in the rectory.

"I used to feel like the Catholic church was dying," said Virgil Jones, the 36-year-old associate minister and director of Youth programs at St. Sabina's. "You go to a lot of churches around the South Side and there's maybe 50 to 100 blacks at Mass. Nothing's going on. There's a lot of unchurched Catholics out there." Jones, who has a master's degree in pastoral studies, said he lacked a "personal relationship with Christ" before he came to St. Sabina's in 1986 and might have drifted along forever if he had not encountered the parish. "There's real evangelization here," he said. "We're doing what the apostles did at Pentecost. We're building church."

St. Sabina's Parishioners are especially proud of a new, large wooden sculpture of the Holy Family created by a black artist and standing tall in the sanctuary. It shows a youthful, black St. Joseph holding a newborn, black Jesus high in the air, African-style, while a laughing, black Virgin Mary dances with outstretched arms at his side.

"See," said Pfleger, "you don't have to always have the Holy Family all bunched up together and all looking so depressed and holy. Salvation's a happy thing.