Peter Claver | |
|---|---|
 Petrus Claver, Aethiopum Servus (Peter Claver, Slave of the Africans) | |
| Born | 26 June 1580 Verdú, Kingdom of Aragon, Spanish Empire |
| Died | 8 September 1654 (aged 74)[1] Cartagena, New Kingdom of Granada, Spanish Empire |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
| Beatified | 20 July 1850, Rome by Pope Pius IX |
| Canonized | 15 January 1888, Rome by Pope Leo XIII |
| Major shrine | Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, Cartagena |
| Feast | 9 September |
| Patronage | Slaves, Colombia, race relations, ministry to African-Americans, seafarers |
Peter Claver SJ (Spanish: Pedro Claver y Corberó; 26 June 1580 – 8 September 1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in Verdú, Spain, who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of slaves, Colombia, and ministry to African Americans.
During the 40 years of his ministry in the New Kingdom of Granada, it is estimated he personally baptized around 300,000 people and heard the confessions of over 5,000 people per year. He is also patron saint for seafarers. He is considered a heroic example of what should be the Christian praxis of love and of the exercise of human rights.[2]
The Congress of Colombia declared September 9 as the National Day of Human Rights in his honor.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ignatianwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "La virtud heroica del "esclavo de los esclavos" en Claver, de Oswaldo Díaz Díaz". Más allá del héroe. Antología crítica de teatro histórico hispanoamericano. Editorial Universidad de Antioquía. 2008. p. 60. ISBN 978-958-714-172-6.