Sister Thea Bowman

Religious leader, educator, and singer

• Born: December 29, 1937
• Birthplace: Yazoo City, Mississippi
• Died: March 30, 1990
• Place of death: Canton, Mississippi

A teacher, scholar, and evangelist, Bowman became known for her spoken and sung presentations to Catholic audiences. Her spirituality advocated intercultural understanding, inclusiveness, and black empowerment. Even while facing incurable cancer, she taught by example to live as fully as possible.

Early Life

Eagerly awaited after many childless years of marriage, Bertha Elizabeth Bowman, the great-granddaughter of slaves, was born to Mary Esther Coleman, a teacher, and Theon Bowman, a physician. Raised in segregated Canton, Mississippi, Bowman experienced a vibrant black community and culture alongside discrimination. Vivacious and inquisitive, at the age of nine Bowman decided to convert to Catholicism. Having sampled Christian denominations, she found inspiration in the good works of Catholic sisters, brothers, and priests at Holy Child Jesus Mission.

Five years at a Jim Crow public school failed to help Bowman reach grade-level reading standards. Her parents decided to transfer her to Holy Child Jesus School, where the instruction of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) helped her to excel in academics. The sisters’ pedagogy encouraged advanced students to help the less advanced, a lesson in community building that shaped her educational philosophy and spirituality. At age fifteen, Bowman convinced her reluctant parents that she wished to become a Franciscan sister, thus necessitating her move to Saint Rose High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where the order’s motherhouse was located. The sole African American aspirant, she experienced both acceptance and racism in the Midwest. Tuberculosis slowed Bowman, but she flourished as a Franciscan and received the name Thea. Returning to Canton to teach, during summers she completed her education, first at Viterbo College and then at the Catholic University of America, where in 1972 she completed a Ph.D. in English literature in preparation for college teaching.

Life’s Work

Bowman mastered the European and American literary canons and immersed herself in African American studies. By the early 1970’s, she had built a reputation as a popular speaker and singer of spirituals and gospel hymns who encouraged audiences to embrace black spirituality and liturgy. The influence of Franciscan spirituality on her life’s work became clear. Like Francis of Assisi, she preached with song; she modeled peace in a racially charged society; and she shared her appreciation of God’s diverse creation with all people.

Upon her return to Viterbo in 1972, where she taught literature and headed the English Department, Bowman inspired students with her spirited and rigorous approach to learning. An accomplished soloist, she founded and directed the Hallelujah Singers, an integrated group of student performers.

In 1978, Bowman returned to Canton to assist her elderly parents and to embark on a new project for the diocese of Jackson, the development of a Catholic interracial and intercultural awareness ministry. Indefatigable, she traveled throughout the country proclaiming the value of African American spiritual traditions for all Catholics. To African Americans she spoke of the need to cherish their history and culture. To white Catholics she explained how African American religious practices could enhance their experience of God. In 1980, Bowman was one of the founders of the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at New Orleans’s Xavier University, and she taught on its faculty. She also regularly presented papers at the annual William Faulkner conference at the University of Mississippi.

After receiving a diagnosis of advanced cancer in 1984, Bowman continued teaching, speaking, and singing. In 1987, television’s 60 Minutes introduced her to her largest and most diverse audience. Accolades including the Harriet Tubman Award of the National Black Sisters’ Conference and the Laetare Medal of the University of Notre Dame were accompanied by honorary degrees from Georgetown University and others. A highlight of her influence came when she addressed the American Catholic bishops at their annual conference in 1989. From her wheelchair, she sang and spoke of the gifts and the needs of African American Catholics. A few months later, in March of 1990, Bowman died in Canton, Mississippi.

Significance

During a time of social and religious upheaval, Bowman challenged the African American Catholic laity and clergy to embrace their culture, their strengths, and their Catholicism to transform themselves and their society. She used her talents as a teacher, speaker, and performer to advocate for an inclusive Catholic community, open to and strengthened by differences of race and gender. Her joy and faithfulness to her life’s work, even while suffering, were a source of inspiration to countless people. Bowman was considered for canonized sainthood.

Bibliography

Cepress, Celestine, ed. Sister Thea Bowman, Shooting Star: Selected Writings and Speeches. Winona, Minn.: St. Mary’s Press, 1993. Autobiographical notes with Bowman’s thoughts on African American religious culture, diversity, and reflections on life while facing death.

Koontz, Christian, ed. Thea Bowman: Handing on Her Legacy. Kansas City, Mo.: Sheed & Ward, 1991. Two works of Bowman’s accompany appreciations of her life.

Nutt, Maurice J., comp. and ed. Thea Bowman: In My Own Words. Ligouri, Mo.: Ligouri Publications, 2009. Meditations from Bowman’s talks and writings.

Smith, Charlene, and John Feister. Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2009. A revealing authorized biography based on archival, oral, and other sources documenting Bowman’s activities.