The Paradox of the Cross: True Freedom According to Saint Peter Claver

By Kristen Van Uden, Catholic Exchange, April 1, 2022

Kristen Van Uden serves as an author spokesperson at Sophia Institute Press. She received her MA in History from the College of William & Mary and her BA in History & Russian from Saint Anselm College. She studies the persecution of Catholics under communist regimes. …

“Slave of the slaves, forever.” This is how St. Peter Claver, apostle to the slaves of Cartagena, signed his name upon his ordination. His life was an embodiment of Matthew 25:30, in which he proved that ministering to “the least of these” is not only a moral imperative, but a hidden treasure of graces for those with eyes to see.

Paradoxical Freedom

Peter Claver was born in Spain in 1581 to a pious family. He joined the Jesuit order and was sent as a missionary to Cartagena, now present day Colombia, but then, hub of the equatorial slave trade. …

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