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Where to find a Catholic MLK Day event (2023 edition)

A listing of Catholic MLK Day-related events in dioceses around the country.

(from left) Rev. Edgar Chandler; Fr Theodore Hesburgh, CSC; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; and Msgr Robert J. Hagarty in 1964 at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights in Chicago. (University of Notre Dame)

This year will mark the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, one of the most powerful moments of oration in US history. It also marks the 55th year since his assassination. On January 16, we will mark his birthday with MLK Day—on and around which Black Catholic events are found in good measure. Below you will find a list of such events throughout the nation, both in-person and virtual.

(This list may not be exhaustive. Please contact your local diocese, Black Catholic office, or a Black parish in your area for more info. We will be updating the BCM calendar as more events are announced.)

National

Albany

Atlanta

  • 1/14: MLK Mass at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church with Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv. at 1pm ET.
  • 1/15: MLK Youth Celebration at St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Hapeville at 3pm ET.

Arlington

Austin

  • 1/14: Commemoration of MLK and Venerable Augustus Tolton at 10am CT with Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry of Chicago at St Michael's Academy.

Baltimore

Beaumont

  • 1/14: MLK Mass at 4pm CT with Bishop David Toups at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica. Reception to follow.

Birmingham

  • 1/14: MLK prayer breakfast at 10am ET with Fr Reginald Norman at the Cathedral of St. Paul Life Center.

Boston

Brooklyn

Buffalo

Burlington

  • 1/16: MLK Day of Celebration at Saint Michael’s College at 9am ET.
  • 1/31 (hybrid): MLK Convocation at 4:30pm ET with keynote speaker Margaret A. Burnham at Saint Michael’s College's McCarthy Recital Hall.

Charleston

  • 1/16 (virtual): MLK celebration at 10am ET with the Diocese of Charleston Black Catholic Ministry.

Chicago

  • 1/11 (hybrid): MLK prayer service at 4:30pm CT with State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins at Catholic Theological Union.

Cincinnati

  • 1/16-21: MLK Week at the University of Dayton.

Columbus

Denver

Detroit

Fort Wayne-South Bend

Fort Worth

  • 1/7: MLK Memorial Mass with Bishop Michael Olson at St. Michael Catholic Church in Bedford at 6pm CT.

Fresno

  • 1/16: MLK Community March at St. John’s Cathedral with the Fresno MLK Unity Committee at 10am PT.

Galveston-Houston

  • 1/15: MLK Mass at 3pm CT with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and homilist Bishop Emeritus Curtis Guillory, SVD of Beaumont at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston.

La Crosse

Lafayette

Lexington

Los Angeles

Louisville

  • 1/14: MLK celebration at 10:30am ET with Archbishop Shelton Fabre at the Cathedral of the Assumption.

Memphis

  • MLK Mass with Bishop David Talley at 10am CT in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Milwaukee

New Orleans

  • 1/16: Archdiocesan MLK Day of Service at 7:30am CT beginning with Archbishop Gregory Aymond at the CYO Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office.

Omaha

  • 1/13, 18: Creighton University MLK Week.

Orange

Pensacola-Tallahassee

Philadelphia

Phoenix

  • 1/14: MLK Mass at 4pm MT with Bishop John Dolan and Fr Andrew McNair at St. Josephine Bakhita Mission. Reception to follow.

Pittsburgh

  • 1/15 (virtual): MLK commemoration at 2pm ET with Fr Matthew Hawkins and the St. Paul Cathedral Race and Reconciliation Dialogue Group.

Portland

  • 1/15: Citywide MLK celebration at 2pm PT with Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church and School at Lake Oswego High School.

Providence

  • 1/22-27: MLK Week at Salve Regina University in Newport.
  • 1/26: MLK Convocation at 4pm ET with Hill Harper at Providence College’s Peterson Recreation Center.

Raleigh

  • 1/16: MLK Mass at 12pm ET with Bishop Luis Zamara and homilist Fr Carl Gales, SVD at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.

San Angelo

  • 1/16: MLK celebration with Bishop Michael Sis at noon CT in the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart.

San Antonio

San Diego

Santa Fe

Seattle

  • 1/16: MLK Mass at 11am PT with Auxiliary Bishop Frank Schuster at Seattle University’s St. Ignatius Chapel.

St. Louis

Toledo

Washington

  • 1/15: MLK Mass at 10am ET with Cardinal Wilton Gregory at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
  • 1/16: Georgetown University’s “Let Freedom Ring Celebration” concert at the Kennedy Center with Leslie Odom Jr., the Let Freedom Ring Choir, and Nolan Williams Jr. at 6pm ET.
  • 1/20: MLK prayer service at 8am ET with Chris Haley at St. Mary's College of Maryland's Campus Center Great Room.

Wilmington


Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger, a seminarian with the Josephites, and a ThM student with the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA).


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