Priest's decade of research yields book on Mother Henriette Delille

Published: 2004-07-01

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- Henriette Delille, a free black woman born in New Orleans around 1810 and descended from a long line of free black women, set aside the life expected of her and made a courageous choice to live for God, said her biographer. She founded the Sisters of the Holy Family, a religious community for black women. Researching and writing the biography of Mother Henriette Delille was like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, said Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis. His forthcoming book, "Henriette Delille, Servant of Slaves, Witness to the Poor," chronicles the life of the free black woman. Father Davis, a professor of church history at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana, said he wanted the book to be a "serious scholarly work" and has spent the past 10 years assembling the various pieces of Mother Henriette's life. "All the pieces are not there," he said, "but you work with what you have and make an educated guess about the missing pieces."

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