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What he said
When speaking about slaves, Peter Claver said, "We must speak to them with our hands by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips."
What the world was like
When Peter Claver lived in Spain, Spain was at war with England. Spain sent many settlers to the Americas to live in colonies. These settlers brought diseases with them that killed many of the Native Americans living there. Therefore, the Spanish needed others to help them work the land and work in the gold mines in the colonies. The Spanish turned to Africa for slave labor. They captured African people and forced them to work as slaves in the colonies. Slaves were not given rights and were mistreated. The slave trade flourished for many years.
Who he was
Peter Claver was born in Spain to parents who were farmers. He attended the University of Barcelona which was run by Jesuits. At the age of twenty, Peter became a Jesuit priest. Peter Claver studied philosophy but was encouraged by another Jesuit priest, Alphonsus Rodriguez, to do missionary work in the Americas.
Peter Claver journeyed to modern day Colombia where 1,000 slaves landed each month. He dedicated his life to helping these slaves, both physically and spiritually. When the ships would come in, he would bring the slaves food and water. He would care for the sick and dying. He would teach them about Christ and give them the sacraments. He would also journey to the various plantations and ask the owners to be kind to these slaves and to treat them with dignity and respect.
Through his work, Peter Claver converted 300,000 slaves to Christianity. He treated each of these slaves from Africa as his brother in Christ and he insisted that others treat them the same way.
What this saint means to us today
Just as Peter Claver treated each slave as his brother in Christ, we are called to overcome all prejudices and treat each other as our brother or sister in Christ. We are also called to work for the rights of all people.
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