The Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, this week officially closed its proceedings regarding the potential sainthood of Servant of God Sister Mary Thea Bowman, a Catholic convert whose work during the 20th century helped the U.S. Catholic Church refine its ministry toward Black American Catholics.
Jackson Bishop Joseph Kopacz celebrated a Mass on Feb. 9 as part of the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase of Bowman’s cause for canonization.
The diocese, which opened Bowman’s cause in 2018, officially sealed the documents and other materials it gathered over the course of that phase; the records will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican.
Photo: Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration