Statues are part of the Juneteenth Memorial Monument, which commemorates African Americans' emancipation from slavery, at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center in Austin, Texas. (Wikimedia Commons/Jennifer Rangubphai)
Juneteenth will be celebrated throughout the United States on June 19 as a federal holiday, giving Americans ample opportunity to honor the legacy—and eventual freedom—of enslaved African Americans.
The original Juneteenth celebrations were born from the 1865 decree, "General Order No. 3," issued in Galveston, Texas, where the last enslaved African Americans remained for some time after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In that same city in 1528, an enslaved Black Catholic named Esteban Dorantes had been one of the first Africans to set foot in what is now the United States.
Below can be found a variety of events celebrating Juneteenth this year in the Catholic tradition, those organized by Catholics, as well as those being held in a Catholic venue.
(This list is not exhaustive. All the included information is subject to change and should be confirmed with event organizers. Please contact your local diocese, Black Catholic organization or a Black parish in your area for any additional events.)
Virtual
- Recording: Juneteenth Mass with Pax Christi USA and Fr Gregory Chisholm, SJ.
Austin
- 6/19: Juneteenth Mass, Rosary, and celebration at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
Baltimore
- 6/20: “A Place at the Table” documentary screening at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Baton Rouge
- 6/20: Juneteenth celebration with RISE St. James at Welcome Park in St. James.
Boston
- 6/19: “Hidden in Plain Sight” documentary short screening at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design as part of the Roxbury International Film Festival.
Camden
- 6/19: Juneteenth celebration at St. Monica Catholic Church in Atlantic City.
Chicago
- 6/19: Juneteenth interfaith service at Sacred Heart School chapel.
- 6/19: Juneteenth commemoration at Wrigley Field for Chicago Cubs game with Leo Catholic High School choir.
- 6/21: Juneteenth Mass at St. Sabina Catholic Church with guest speaker Marc Lamont Hill.
Cleveland
- 6/19: Juneteenth Mass and celebration at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Shaker Heights.
Colorado Springs
- 6/19: Juneteenth Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral with Frs Kyle Ingels, Steve Akujobi, and Emeka Okwuosa.
Dallas
- 6/20: Juneteenth celebration at Holy Cross Catholic Church.
Milwaukee
- 6/19: Juneteenth Mass at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church with Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Haines.
Nashville
- 6/19: Juneteenth party and potluck at Christ the King Catholic Church in Nashville at 5:30pm CT.
New York
- 6/19: Juneteenth concert at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Manhattan with the UC Davis Choirs, Pacific Edge Voices, and Granite Bay High School Choirs.
- 6/19: Ecumenical Juneteenth prayer service at St. Nicholas National Shrine in Manhattan.
- 6/19: “Rock the Blessings” Juneteenth concert at Greater Allen AME Church in Queens with gospel artists, LL Cool J, and speakers including Urban League president Marc Morial.
- 6/20: Juneteenth Mass and celebration at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Staten Island with Fr Wesbee Victor, homilist Fr Levelt Germain, and the St. Joseph Parish Choir.
Oakland
- 6/19: Juneteenth celebration at St. Columba Catholic Church.
Omaha
- 6/19: Juneteenth Mass at St. John Catholic Church at Creighton University.
Philadelphia
- 6/20: Juneteenth Mass at St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church.
Pittsburgh
- 6/19: Juneteenth celebration in Duquesne University’s Gumberg Library Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center with Doris Carson Williams.
Richmond
- 6/19: Juneteenth celebration at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk.
- 6/19: Juneteenth Rosary and Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia Beach. Potluck breakfast to follow.
Rochester
- 6/19: Juneteenth “Overcoming Racism” Stations of the Cross at St. Mary Catholic Church in Elmira, New York.
San Diego
- 6/21: Juneteenth Mass at St. Rita Catholic Church with Bishop Michael Pham.
Santa Fe
- 6/28: Annual Fr Rollins Lambert Memorial Mass at St. Joseph on the Rio Grande Catholic Church with Fr Art Anderson, OFM.
St. Augustine
- 6/19: Juneteenth concert at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine with the St. Augustine Music Festival, SAMF Chamber Orchestra, conductor Jorge Peña, and baritone Robert Sims.
St. Louis
- 6/20: Maafa procession at the Old Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.
Washington
- 6/18: Georgetown University Diaspora Juneteenth celebration on Harbin Patio.
- 6/19: Juneteenth Family Day at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland.
- 6/19: Juneteenth celebration at St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Dupont Circle Citizens’ Association.
- 6/20: Juneteenth prayer breakfast at St. Luke’s Center.
Wichita
- 6/20: Juneteenth parade beginning at Holy Savior Catholic Academy.
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