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In the Sistine Chapter
By Arthur A. Schomburg
Three unrelated happenings in diverse places
in the world and all widely separated in point of time, serve to
demonstrate the unique services rendered by Negroes in the field
of religion.
I shall first tell of the most recent
circumstance which occurred just prior tot he outbreak of the
Civil War. During this period one of the elected
representatives to the Congress was notoriously unfriendly to
the Negro in many of his remarks and addresses delivered in the
House of Representatives. he lost no opportunity to utter
derogatory opinions regarding the people of African descent. he
was popularly known to the masses of people as "Sunset
Cox."
Sometime during the year 1852, Cox and his
family took a trip to Europe, and concluded the tour with a
visit tot he Eternal City. The bitterness that he had expressed
in his speeches throughout his public life as a representative
from the State of Ohio would have been forgotten in the passage
of time had it not been for his book Buckeye Abroad,
Wanderings in Europe and in the Orient. By some mysterious
spiritual attraction, he wandered through the magnificent
corridors and chambers of the Vatican and the great basilica of
St. Peter's.
In the book, he told of the many wonderful
paintings by Michael Angelo and the other great artists, whose
works bring joy and comfort to the minds of the religious
believers who silently walk on the tessellated floor of the
greatest religious institution in the world. On the occasion
when he visited the Sistine Chapel, a seldom ceremonial was
being conducted, and he beheld several Cardinals, priests,
Monks, deacons, etc. Here, too, he saw the supreme Pontiff in
his robes surrounded by dignitaries in every degree and shade of
color. Soon, the choir singing the responses stopped and the
sound gently died away in the vastness of this sacred sanctuary.
* * * *
Now let us hear the American Congressman:
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. . . . Soon there arises in this
chamber of theatrical glitter, a plain unquestioned
African, and he utters the sermon in facile Latinity, with
graceful manner. His dark hands gestured harmoniously with
the rotund periods, and his swart visage beamed with a
high order of intelligence. He was an Abyssinian.
What a commentary was here upon our
American prejudices. The head of the great Catholic
Church, surrounded by the ripest scholars of the age,
listening to the eloquence of the despised Negro; and
thereby illustrating to the world the common bond of
brotherhood which binds the human race. I confess that, at
first, it seemed to me a sort of theatrical mummery, not
being familiar with such admixture of society.
But, on reflection, I discerned in it
the same influence which, during the dark Ages, conferred
such inestimable blessings on mankind. History records,
that from the time when the barbarians overran the Western
empire to the time of the revival of letters, the
influence of the Church of Rome had been generally
favorable to science, to civilization, and to good
government.
Why? Because her system held them, as
it holds now, all distinctions of caste as odious. She
regards no man, bond or free, white or black, as
disqualified for the priesthood. This doctrine has, as
McCauley develops in his introductory chapter to his
English history, mitigated many of the worst evils of
society; for where race tyrannized over race, or baron
over villein.
Catholicism came between them, and
created an aristocracy altogether independent of race or
feudalism, compelling even the hereditary master to kneel
before the spiritual tribunal of the hereditary bondsman.
The childhood of Europe was passed
under the guardianship of priestly teachers; who taught,
as the scene in Sistine Chapel of an Ethiop addressing the
proud rulers of catholic Christendom teaches, that no
distinction is regarded as Rome, save that which divides
the priest from the people.
The sermon of the Abyssinian, in
beautiful print was distributed at the door. I bring one
home as a trophy and as a souvenir of a great truth which
Americans are prone to deny or contemn. |
Here our friend Sunset Cox further comments on
what he has seen and heard:
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Ah! different--far different--is Rome
now! Today I heard before the assembled Cardinals and
Pope, a dark-skinned Abyssinian--a student of the
Propaganda--grow eloquent in classic Latin, over the mercy
and love of that Saviour whose precepts teach the equal
right of all to live, and that--forever. |
A few years later the distinguished
"gentlemen from Ohio" rose in the House of
Representatives to discuss some phase of the Slavery Question, and
had launched into an eloquent defense of slavery in America. A
fellow-representative arose and called his attention to what he
had written about the Negro when he had been a spectator at the
solemn ceremony in the Cathedral of St. Peter and the sermon was
delivered by a Negro who was the preacher of the day.
The reading of this portion of the book created
a mild sensation in the House of Representatives. In our Congress
the members are generally representative of the best American
tradition, and yet with all the brilliance of education, all the
talent and culture few of these men had read the Buckeye
Abroad!
We must conclude that the content of the
printed sermon "of the Abyssinian" that was handed to
him was unknown to Mr. Cox, was beyond his ability to translate,
otherwise we believe that he would have handed to posterity the
name of this black Abyssinian who we are reminded in beautifully
intoned Latin had received the reward of merit from the
distinguished, enlightened body gathered together on this
occasion.
* * * *
Nor should we regard this as the only instance
where the Negro has been given an opportunity to show the spirit
of the image of his Maker carved in ebony. Let us consider two
historical incidents that took place nearly two centuries ago and
which, to my mind, appear remarkable, in spite of the fact that
they are little known.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, to
wit, in 1608. King Alvaro of the Congo and his African nation had
been converted to Christianity by missionaries who had followed
the Portuguese navigators in order to spread the gospel of love
and light among the benighted people. Chapels and churches were
erected to the Eternal God in West Africa. Later on the King sent
Antonius Emanuel Marchino de Wunth as his legate before the
Catholic Pontiff.
This ebony-hued dignitary was received with all
the pomp and ceremonials that a duly credited representative was
entitled to receive in Rome. This man was born and reared in the
Congo and, during his sojourn in Rome, was taken sick and soon
thereafter passed on to his peaceful reward. The earthly comfort
of the Viaticum was administered, bringing him closer to spiritual
affinity with his Maker. Prayers were offered for his recovery by
representatives of the Church brought to him all the consolations
of the Church regardless of his color or previous condition in
life.
He had come to the Papal State as the kindly
ambassador pf a Christian Kingdom, and as such was received and
fully accredited. he had been the recipient of all the princely
honors the Catholic Church bestows upon its faithful members. the
picture, shown elsewhere, is an illustration of what took place in
those early days. These small panels illustrate some of the
services that were rendered to this Christian emissary.
* * * *
For our third instance, we are indebted to the
Spanish historian, Muņoz, whose services in the field of letters
and preservation of the manuscripts and the material dealing with
the discovery and colonization of the Americas was outstanding.
Although this material had been scattered in the various
repositories, it was brought together tot he happy possessor of
many volumes on source material on the vast mainland of central
and South America.
While examining one of Muņoz's
manuscript books on Mexico, I located an entry that was singularly
interesting in that it stated that the ship that had crossed the
Atlantic Ocean landed its passengers and other persons in the
services of the Spanish Crown on the coast of Vera Cruz in Mexico.
The religious brothers were looking around for a place of worship
to erect an altar for the sacred vessels, bless the ground and
give thanks for their happy arrival in America.
At a loss for a place where the servants of
Christ could offer divine services they approached the humble hut
of a colored woman to whom they explained their mission. This poor
black woman turned over her home to the missionaries and it is
stated by Muņoz that it was there that the first services
in Vera Cruz was offered tot he Eternal God. Was not this another
manifestation of the guidance of Divine Providence in spread of
Christian institutions in the new world to bring the light of
religion to its people?
I like to regard these three important and
significant events as convincing demonstrations of the unique
contributions of the Negro in the field of religion. Each may be
termed an example of a virtuous life like the case of Theresa of
Salamata, the black girl who was found on the West African beach
and brought to Cadiz, Spain. Here, she was befriended by the
Spanish King who placed here in the care of a most exemplary
lady-in-waiting to the Queen, who gave her a Christian education.
Her loving response and devotion brought her to
the Convent of the City of Salamata, where, through
self-abnegation and prayer, she rose to high honors in a country
where she had been unknown. Years later in this very sanctuary she
closed her eyes in a peaceful slumber; a lesson to those of us who
seldom find time to reflect, study and pray in that realm of
solitude that brings lasting comfort to hearts burdened with worry
and anxiety.
References
Cox, S.S. Buckeye Abroad. New York, 1952.
Kilian, Lucas. Portrait of Gefandten des Konigs
ron Congo, p. 997, 1608.
Muņoz, J.B. MSS on America. New York
Public Library.
Sandoval, Alonso. Historia de todos los Etiopes,
p, 476. Servila, 1647.
Vida de la Venerable Negra la Madre Sor Theresa
Juliana de Santo Domingo, En Zaragoza, 1757 in MSS (Schomburg
Collection, NYPL)
Source: Interracial Review (May
1938) * * *
* * Arthur A. Schomburg
We share with our many friends the deep
feeling of loss caused by the death recently of Arthur A.
Schomburg. Negro scholar and curator of the Division of Negro
Literature, History, and Prints in the 135th Street branch of
the New York Public Library.
Dr. Schomburg was a valued contributor to the
Review -- his last article having appeared in our May issue.
Modest and retiring in manner, he was outstanding in a field he
knew to be of great importance to his race.
Born in Puerto Rico, he began early to take
an active interest in Negro literature and art. While engaged in
various occupations he painstakingly assembled a collection of
rare manuscripts, first editions and prints, some of which went
back to the earliest settlements on the American continents. In
1926, his collection, then considered one of the most complete
of its kind, was purchased by the Carnegie Foundation and
presented to the Public Library. In 1927, he won a bronze medal
and one hundred dollars from the Harmon Foundation for
outstanding work in the field of education.
His work was important in that he preserved
for his race and abundance of historic material which furnishes
the kind of inspiration that serves any people as a spur to
advancement.
Source: Interracial Review
(July 1938)
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See also:
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