This chapter introduces readers to the most famous Black Catholic parish in the country today, St. Sabina’s on the South Side of Chicago, and its nationally renowned white pastor, Fr. Michael Pfleger. It argues that it is impossible to understand the distinctively Black Catholicism on display at St. Sabina’s today without first understanding the longer history of Black Catholic Chicago explored in the book. It also reviews the ways in which studies of Black Catholics introduces new characters and generates new conclusions with regard to the study of African American religion and American Catholicism.
