Pierre Claver
1580-1654 17th century Feast day: September 9
Serving with one's hands before speaking, drawing near to the suffering body.
Who was Pierre Claver?
A Catalan Jesuit, he spent forty years at the great slave port of Cartagena de Indias. He went down into the ships' holds to tend, feed and baptise the African captives, signing himself “slave of the slaves forever.”
In their own words
We must speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips.
Peter Claver, slave of the Africans forever.
To love God as he ought to be loved, we must love nothing apart from him, or love it only for his sake.