Feast day: September 9th
When did St. Peter Claver live: 1580 - 1654
Biography of St. Peter Claver:
Peter Claver was born in 1580 in Catalonia in Spain to a poor family. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, then entered the Jesuit order. In Majorca, he met Alphonsus Rodriguez who convinced him to go to the Indies to missing to the people there. Peter Claver moved to Colombia in 1610 where he preached to African slaves and tired to abolish slave trade. He also cared for the sick and converted about three hundred thousand slaves. Peter Claver died in 1654.
Patronage: St. Peter Claver is patron saint of Negro Missions
Statues and wooden sculptures representing St. Peter Claver - portrayal, imagery and emblem: St. Peter Claver is shown as a priest with book and simple religious gown.