FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2018
For
Black Catholic History Month in November, the Diocese of Arlington has collaborated with
St. Luke Productions to bring the theater
production and co-sponsoring, “Tolton:
From Slave to Priest” to Bishop
Ireton High School in Alexandria. This one-man show, performed by actor Jim
Coleman and directed by Leonardo Defilippis, is based on the life of Fr. Augustus
Tolton, a former slave who conquered nearly impossible odds to become the first black man to be ordained to the
priesthood by the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
The play is currently
on a national tour. This is the first time the show will be presented in Virginia
and the Washington, D.C., area – and we are making it free for the public. Everyone
is encouraged to attend. Click here
to watch the trailer. To learn about the production or to reserve tickets,
please visit https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/tolton/.
Here
are the dates and showtimes:
Where: Bishop
Ireton High School, 201
Cambridge Road, Alexandria
Performances: November 16 - 7 p.m.; November
17 - 1 p.m. & 7 p.m.; November
18 - 4 p.m.
About
Born
in 1854 to enslaved parents in Missouri, Augustus Tolton sensed a call to the
priesthood after escaping to freedom and gaining a Catholic education. When he
was rejected by every American seminary to which he applied, Tolton studied and
was ordained a priest in Rome. He then returned to minister the faithful in
Chicago, where he remained until his death in 1897. Tolton is a Servant of God which means he’s
being considered for sainthood.