Saint Peter Claver, Priest and Apostle of the Slaves

Saint Peter Claver (1580–1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who dedicated forty years of his life as the "Slave of the Slaves" in Cartagena, Colombia—the principal slave trade port of the New World. Signing his final vows with the formula "Petrus Claver, aethiopum semper servus" ("Peter Claver, slave of the Africans forever"), Claver met incoming slave ships carrying mistreated captives, bringing food, medicine, brandy, and spiritual comfort into filthy holds. Claver instructed and baptized more than 300,000 enslaved persons, catechizing them with visual illustrations, defending their human dignity, and visiting them annually on plantations to administer the Sacraments.