Martha Tolton's Fight for Faith and Freedom: St. Peter's Catholic Church, Ralls County, Missouri

Travel to Ralls County, Missouri to hear the story of Martha Jane Chisley Tolton, an enslaved woman who liberated herself and her three young children during the Civil War. Her son, Augustus Tolton, would grow up to become the first known African-American Catholic priest to serve in the United States, building Chicago’s first black parish, and serving congregants across the color line during a time of deep racial division. We speak with members of the Ralls Counry Historical Society about the history of the Brush Creek Church, including the graveyard where many enslaved were buried. We also speak with Bishop Joseph Perry of the Chicago Archdiocese, who now serves as the postulator for the cause of canonization for Father Tolton.