As Black History Month concluded, Seton Hall University highlighted the contributions of two notable Black Catholic brothers, Norman Francis and Bishop Joseph Francis. Reverend Forrest Pritchett, professor of Africana Studies and leader of the Martin Luther King Leadership Program at Seton Hall, shared his reflections during the university’s Core Tribute event.
Norman Francis passed away on February 18, 2026, at age 94. He was recognized as the first lay person and the first Black individual to lead Xavier University in New Orleans—the only historically Black Catholic university in the United States. Over a 47-year tenure as president from 1968 to 2015, Francis expanded enrollment and increased the university’s endowment to $161 million. Under his leadership, Xavier became known for producing significant numbers of Black graduates in medical and science fields. During the civil rights era, he allowed Freedom Riders—activists who challenged segregation—to stay on campus.
Reverend Pritchett recounted a meeting with Norman Francis in 2022: “I talked with him in 2022 during a pilgrimage to New Orleans to acknowledge the African American candidates for sainthood, about the impact of Hurricane Kitrina on Xavier in 2005 and first year Xavier students from the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, who were given the option to enroll at Seton Hall. I volunteered to mentor some of them. I also requested his blessings on my potential efforts to develop information on the impact of the legacy of his brother and him.”
Bishop Joseph Francis served as Auxiliary Bishop of Newark until his death at age 73 in 1997. Reverend Pritchett described their introduction in 1978: “Bishop Joseph Francis and I met in the fall of 1978 when I entered Seton Hall University. I was introduced to him by the Dean of the Seton Hall Black Studies Center, Julia Miller. He was interested in talking about my experiences as a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960’s South and my views on ‘the race issue in America’. I was interested in his views on the pathway to racial justice within the US Catholic Church. Bishop Francis was a close collaborator and confidant to Sister Rose Thering.”
In that period, Bishop Francis chaired a subcommittee that drafted “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” a pastoral letter from U.S. Catholic Bishops addressing racism published in 1979. According to Reverend Pritchett: “That year Bishop Joseph Francis was the chairman of the subcommittee that wrote the pastoral letter ‘Brothers and Sisters to Us,’ a 1979 document on racism from the U.S. Catholic Bishops. He was a primary author of the letter and was instrumental in advocating for a stronger Catholic stance against racial injustice, not just in words but in concrete actions within church and society.”
The tribute also referenced Carter G. Woodson’s role as founder of what would become Black History Month—a movement originally intended to counter stereotypes by highlighting Black Americans’ role throughout U.S history.
Seton Hall continues this tradition through its Core curriculum by teaching texts such as “the Parable of The Talents” while acknowledging leaders like Norman and Joseph Francis for their impact both locally and nationally.
Additional resources related to Norman Francis’s career can be found through obituary articles including this tribute from Xavier University or coverage by NOLA.com. For further background about Bishop Joseph Francis’s life or images documenting his service with Newark’s Archdiocese see his obituary via The New York Times or archival photos. The full text for “Brothers & Sisters To Us” is available here.
For broader context regarding national themes for Black History Month refer here, while more information about civil rights activists such as Freedom Riders can be found through this video resource.
