The Catholic Church is one step closer to canonizing its first-ever saint from Mississippi: Sister Thea Bowman.
Sister Bowman is a trailblazing Black nun known for her deep faith, passion for justice, and lifelong commitment to uplifting marginalized voices.
Born on Dec. 29, 1937, in Yazoo City, Sister Thea was the only child of a doctor and a teacher and was raised Methodist before converting to Catholicism at age 9, inspired by the nuns at her local school.
She would go on to become the first African American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, leaving Mississippi as a teenager to join the order in Wisconsin…