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Sr Mary Roger Thibodeaux, remembered as the 'Black power' nun, has died at age 86. Sister Mary died on March 11, 2024, in Pennsylvania. Born in 1937, Thibodeaux was born in Louisiana and raised in the Catholic faith at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, as well as the parish’s elementary and high schools. Both were run by Drexel’s order. Sister's Thibodeaux's order, was founded by St. Katharine Drexel to serve Native and African Americans.
As a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament she wrote a 1972 book on Black Power and worked as an educator, national organizer, and evangelist.
Sr Mary Roger Thibodeaux, a veteran member of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament she resided at Paul’s Run Retirement Center in Philadelphia.
The death announcement was first shared by her religious sister, Beulah Martin.
“My friend, sister, and woman of God, Sr. Mary Roger Thibodeaux, SBS went home to God early this morning,” she posted on Facebook.
“Please pray for her family, SBS family friends, and especially the sisters at Paul's Run. May she continue to rest in heavenly peace.”
“What was going on inside of me was getting stronger as I approached my senior year. Very strong,” she said in a 2021 video interview with the SBS order, which she entered in 1955 and made final vows in 1963 as one of its first Black members.
“I have not ever regretted making the decision to follow the call.”
In New York, as a nun, she taught at St. Thomas the Apostle School, part of a historic Black parish in Manhattan. She also taught at All Saints Catholic School.
Thibodeaux was among several family members to enter religious life—including a cousin, Sylvia Thibodeaux, who joined the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans. Both would go on to represent a new era of African-American nuns during a Black Catholic religious boom in the mid- to late 20th century.
In 1968, Sr Mary Roger became a founding member of the National Black Sisters’ Conference, one of the core organizations of the Black Catholic Movement.
Thibodeaux made a impact with her 1972 book “A Black nun looks at Black power,” with her poetic reflections on the struggle for Black freedom in America.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, has a large monument contains a quote from the book.
Black Power is not foreign to Yahweh and Yahweh is not foreign to Black Power… The cause of Justice is and always will be in strict accordance with the Will of God.
In Washington, Thibodeaux served for seven years in the National Office for Black Catholics and served for 15 years on the board of the National Catholic Reporter newspaper.
She received the Philadelphia Claver Award from the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary in 2009 and continued to work in various arenas even during retirement.
“Sister was a trailblazer when it came to evangelizing,” said Sr Lynn Marie Ralph, SBS, on social media following Thibodeaux’s death. “Truly an angel who has earned her wings.”
Thibodeaux’s funeral Mass will take place on Monday, March 18, in Philadelphia at Our Lady of Calvary Catholic Church, where the homilist will be Fr Stephen Thorne. The livestreamed ceremony will begin at 10am ET, with burial to follow at the SBS Motherhouse Cemetery in Bensalem.
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