Dr. Reynold Verret, President of Xavier University of Louisiana, recently visited a new exhibit in Lauinger Library that spotlights Xavier’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies, a ministry program for graduate students working in U.S. Black Catholic communities.
Georgetown University has sought partnerships and collaborations with institutions in Louisiana as it has worked to address historical ties to slavery and engage with Descendant communities whose ancestors were once enslaved on Maryland Jesuit plantations. The exhibit in Lauinger celebrates the centennial of Xavier’s founding as the only Catholic Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the United States.
The exhibit, “The Institute for Black Catholic Studies of Xavier University of Louisiana: The Spirit of Sankofa,” features leaders who formed the university’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies 46 years ago and whose spirit drives the mission forward today. Sankofa, a Ghanaian concept, represents the African roots of Black spirituality that has inspired Black life and religion over time, said Dr. Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
“The Georgetown exhibit is a nod to Black History Month. It sheds light on the spirit and genius of the Black Catholic community, an example of how the diversity of God’s human creation is a blessing to the Church and all God’s people,” Bellow said. “I am grateful for the collaboration and thank Georgetown University for so distinguished a celebration of Xavier University of Louisiana’s 100-year anniversary.”
Through a collaboration between the Institute and Georgetown Library staff, the exhibit features a Ghanaian hand-carved Sankofa bird, which symbolizes reflecting on the past to inform a better future, archival photographs, the Institute's scholarly journal, a West African gold-flecked cloth adorned with symbols that represent the omnipotence of God, an Institute created prayer book, and sketched portraits of the founders.
“We wanted to recognize the Institute’s tremendous impact on student learning and community life and create an awareness that there is a HBCU that is Catholic and active in engaging the African American community and the broader Catholic community,” said Keith Gorman, associate university librarian for the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in Georgetown Library.
On Feb. 27, Fr. Tim Kesicki, S.J., former president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and an alumnus of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies, will speak with Monique Maddox, president of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, about the exhibit, Xavier’s centennial history and focus on Black Catholic studies, and the ongoing work of reconciliation.
The exhibit will be on display on Lauinger’s fifth floor until Feb. 28, 2025. Learn more about Georgetown's partnership with Xavier here.