St. Peter Claver (1580–1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest who spent almost forty years in the port of Cartagena, in present-day Colombia, serving the enslaved Africans who arrived there by the thousands on slave ships, bringing them food, medicine, care and the Gospel. When he made his final vows, he signed himself “Peter Claver, slave of the Africans forever.” Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1888 and named him patron of missions among African peoples; he is also the patron of Colombia and of human rights. His feast day is September 9. Below are his story, Scripture, and prayers to St. Peter Claver for the oppressed, for racial justice and for those who serve the poor.
A short prayer to St. Peter Claver, written for this page:
St. Peter Claver, you saw Christ in men and women whom the world treated as property.
Pray for all who are enslaved, trafficked or treated as less than human,
and open my eyes to the dignity of every person. Amen.
Who was St. Peter Claver?
Pedro Claver was born in 1580 in Verdú, in Catalonia, Spain, into a farming family. He joined the Jesuits in 1602. At the college in Majorca he met the elderly doorkeeper, St. Alphonsus Rodríguez, who encouraged him to go to the Americas. In 1610 he arrived in Cartagena, one of the chief slave markets of the Spanish empire, where some ten thousand Africans arrived each year in chains after a terrible voyage. He was ordained a priest there in 1616.
Following the example of the Jesuit Alonso de Sandoval, whenever a slave ship entered the harbor, Claver went on board and down into the holds with interpreters, carrying food, water, brandy, lemons and tobacco. He washed and dressed wounds, nursed the sick and dying, and taught the captives about God’s love through pictures and interpreters. He followed them into the slave pens, visited them on the plantations, defended them before their masters, and cared for lepers and prisoners. He is said to have baptized some three hundred thousand people. Worn out, he spent his last four years paralyzed and neglected, and died on September 8, 1654.
Scripture
The words of Christ that Claver lived each day (Matthew 25:40, Douay-Rheims):
And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
What is St. Peter Claver the patron saint of?
- Colombia
- Enslaved people and victims of human trafficking
- Human rights and race relations
- Missions among African peoples, named by Pope Leo XIII in 1896
Prayers to St. Peter Claver
Written for this page.
For victims of human trafficking
St. Peter Claver, pray for the men, women and children who are bought and sold today.
Break their chains, bring their traffickers to justice,
and give strength to all who work to set them free. Amen.
For racial justice
Lord, through the prayers of St. Peter Claver, heal the wounds of racism in our hearts and in our society.
Help us to see every person as your beloved child, and to work for justice and peace. Amen.
For those who serve the poor
St. Peter Claver, you gave your whole life to people others ignored.
Give courage and perseverance to all who serve the poor, the sick and the forgotten. Amen.
Feast day
St. Peter Claver’s feast is September 9, the day after his death. It is an optional memorial in the General Roman Calendar and a memorial in the United States.
Frequently asked questions
Why is St. Peter Claver called “the slave of the slaves”?
Because he signed his final vows in 1622 “Peter Claver, slave of the Africans forever” and spent his life serving them.
What is St. Peter Claver the patron saint of?
Colombia, enslaved people, human rights and missions among African peoples.
When is St. Peter Claver’s feast day?
September 9.
More saints
- St. Josephine Bakhita
- St. Martin de Porres prayer
- St. Katharine Drexel
- St. Damien of Molokai
- Works of mercy
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Matthew 25:40 (Douay-Rheims).