St Peter Claver

Peter was born in Spain.  His parents were farmers.  He decided from a very young age that he wanted to become a priest.  When he was old enough, he left his home to study in Barcelona to become a Jesuit.  Before he had finished his schooling, he felt called by God to become a missionary in South America.
He landed in what is now Columbia and that is where his work began.  When the boats from Africa would arrive carrying hundreds of slaves, he would be one of the first people on board handing out food and water.  He would care for the sick and baptize the children and the dying. He would teach them about Jesus and over 300 thousand people were baptized because of his work.
He worked endlessly caring for the African people who were treated very poorly. He did not just serve them on the boats, but he would go out to the plantations and encourage the owners to treat their slaves with respect and love.  He is often called the “Slave of Slaves”.