Charles Randolph Uncles
Angelia
Vernon
Menchan
Angelia
Vernon Menchan
The debate over who the first African-American priest
of the Catholic Church has raged on for years, but some
historians point to Father Charles Uncles of Baltimore.
On Dec. 19, 1891, he was ordained as a priest in the
United States.
Charles Randolph Uncles was born Nov. 8, 1859 in
East Baltimore. This was five years after Father James
Healy, considered by some as the first Catholic priest of
African descent to work in the United States, who was
ordained in Paris in 1854. However, Father Healy never
considered himself as Black. Some historians of the
denomination also point to Father Augustus Tolton, who
is recognized as the first priest of the church of African
slave descent, born in 1854 and ordained in Paris in
1866.
From 1891 onward, Father Uncles, who was reportedly
called “Daddy” Uncles, taught Latin, Greek, and English
at Epiphany College in Walbrook, West Baltimore, and
in New Windsor, New York. Father Uncles was also
a founding member of the St. Joseph’s Society of the
Sacred Heart in Baltimore, which was developed to
minister and assist the Black church community in the
city.
While living at Epiphany College, Father Uncles fell
ill in July 1933, passing at the age of 73.
Black History Fact
submitted by Angelia Vernon Menchan
Angelia Vernon Menchan is an avid serial writer. Her goal is to engage readers
in ongoing stories filled with people like them, who they can grow to know. Some
will inspire love and devotion, others rage and ridicule, perhaps. They will all
inspire feelings and generate conversation .
12 | NKLC Magazine