Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski invites you to the formal announcement of the Forgive Us Our Trespasses initiative. Please join us as we memorialize lives lost in the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade, attest to our broken past, and ask God to lead us on a path of acknowledgement, penance, forgiveness, and healing.
The day will start inside the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (the Old Cathedral) with prayer, Scripture and song. Faith leaders will speak on historical sites in St. Louis that relate to the slave trade and local enslavement of Africans.
The day will end with a modified Maafa procession from the Old Cathedral to the south end of the Arch grounds where a closing ceremony will be held. A Maafa – Kiswahili for “Great Disaster” – is a traditional procession memorializing lives lost during the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade. You are encouraged to wear something white in memory of lost lives.
For those unable to attend, the Prayer Service and Maafa Procession will be live-streamed on the Archdiocese of St. Louis Facebook page: Click here to watch the livestream