Father Clarence J. Rivers (1931-2004) pioneered African American musical liturgy and an accompanying mindset for the benefit of Black Catholics across the nation and around the world.
Father Rivers said in an interview in 1977: “People are hungry and not being fed.” Obviously, in considering his life’s work, this sentiment permeated his soul and sparked his enduring pledge to nourish and enliven starving people of faith. This shy, insecure boy from Selma, Alabama, who began life as a non-Catholic, received his divine, priestly call through the early encouragement and nourishment of Catholic education and mentorship. He was the first black priest ordained in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
In music and in prose, this artist-priest transformed traditional Catholic liturgy by bringing the riches of African American culture to be appreciated and respected as a means of expressing one’s faith. He was a composer, liturgist, writer, editor, lecturer, educator, ecumenical leader, business owner, director, award recipient and a completely engaged creative force that helped strengthen the Black Catholic community during the days of pre and post-Vatican II and through a tumultuous time in American history.
