Young black Catholics grow in Knights of Peter Claver tradition

Published: 2004-06-21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- For Junior Knights and Junior Daughters of the Knights of Peter Claver, involvement in the nation's largest lay black Catholic organization is about family and service. Black Catholic teens and pre-teens gathered at St. Vincent De Paul Church in Nashville to talk about serving their communities and their church. The youths came from Denver, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Nashville and other cities from the mid-South region stretching west to the Rockies. "A black Catholic is a rarity," said Karen Mtshali, a parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul and the Central States Junior Daughters director. "This kind of group reinforces they're part of the church. It will make them more committed Catholics." Mtshali oversees the activities of local Junior Daughters courts in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Tennessee.

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