The February meeting of the CBL brought together a nice audience to hear two fascinating stories for Black History Month: one about the life of the first African-American priest in the U.S., Father Augustus Tolton, and a second about the filmmaker who is bringing Father Tolten’s story to theaters this year.

Chris Foley, long-time filmmaker and writer, joined us to tell how he discovered the story of “Fr. Gus” and his fascination with this ex-slave’s life.  Chris has already produced a 30-minute documentary on Fr. Tolton, titled “Across,” and is finalizing casting and production to create the full-length feature.  His talk showed the spirit that motivated Fr. Tolton’s mother to find freedom and the call that Fr. Gus couldn’t ignore, calling him to the vocation.  He studied in Rome, was ordained in 1886, and returned to Illinois to serve parishes in Quincy and later Chicago. 

It was an enlightening morning, with a powerful message about faith, both Fr. Gus’s and Chris’s.