During Black catholic history Month We salute…
Fr. Charles Randolph Uncles, SSJ and Fr. John Henry Dorsey, SSJ
November 6th is the birthday of Fr. Charles
Randoph Uncles, a Josephite priest who became
the very first African American ordained as a
Catholic priest in the United States born in 1859. If
he were alive today, he would be 152 years old. Fr.
Uncles was a native Baltimorean and parishioner
of St. Francis Xavier Parish. He was ordained by
Cardinal James Gibbons at the then Cathedral of
the Assumption in Baltimore on December 19,
1891. He celebrated his first Mass on Christmas
Day at historic St. Francis Xavier. Along with four
other priests, Fr. Uncles was instrumental in
forming the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred
Heart, known as the Josephites, in 1893.
from left to right: Fr. John Henry Dorsey, S.S.J.,
Charles Randolph was the son of Lorenzo and Shown
Fr. Charles Randolph Uncles, S.S.J. and
Anna Marie(Buchanan) Uncles, who were born Fr. Joseph John, S.A.M.
free and faithful Catholics. His father, Lorenzo
was a machinist for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Father Uncles had one
sibling, a brother- Norman Uncles whose family went to St. Pius. Fr. Uncles had
the desire to be a priest at an early age. He dedicated himself to acquiring an
education and following the tenets of the Catholic Church. According to Mrs.
Agnes Kane Callum, Fr. Uncles was fluent in three other languages beside
English including Latin, Greek and French and because of the racism of his time,
started the seminary in Quebec , Canada at St. Hyacinthe College. He was a
scholar, historian, professor and journalist. There is a building for senior living in
Baltimore at 607 Pennsylvania Avenue named after Fr. Uncles and this summer
the entire street was renamed…Fr. Charles R. Uncles Way. From 1891-1925 Fr.
Uncles taught mainly in Epiphany College in Baltimore and Newburgh, New
York. He died July 21, 1933.
Fr. John Henry Dorsey, SSJ- connected to the Charles and Agnes Dorsey family at
St. Cecilia, St. Peter Claver Families became the second Black priest in the order
of the Josephites in 1902. Like Fr. Uncles, he too, celebrated his first Mass at St.
Francis Xavier. Fr. Dorsey was noted for his impressive and spiritual homilies
and for his dedication in bringing converts into the Catholic faith.
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In his tour of the south, Fr. Dorsey became friends with Booker T. Washington,
founder of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Fr. Dorsey was given the privilege to
celebrate Mass the first Sunday of the month at Tuskegee. Many people were
converted to Catholicism through his efforts and today, Fr. Dorsey is still
remembered there. In 1905, Fr. Dorsey became the first Black Pastor in the United
States at St. Peter Claver in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and is one of the founders of the
Knights of Peter Claver, which commenced in 1909. He served as their national
chaplain until 1933. Fr. Dorsey also was the Pastor at St. Monica in Baltimore
(near where the Raven Stadium now stands) until his death on June 20, 1926. Fr.
John Henry Dorsey is interred in New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore where
many of our ancestors lie to rest. Of particular interest is that our very own Mrs.
Lucille Talley (St. Cecilia) was Baptized by Fr. Dorsey and she has papers to
prove it. To God be the glory!
(Excerpts from articles written by Agnes Kane Callum featured in the book “What We Have Seen and
Heard: Essays and Stories from Black Catholics in Baltimore”).
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