More than 300 members of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary arrived in Sacramento to do what they have done with a passion for so long: evangelizing people and celebrating their faith.

The event that brought them together was the 52nd annual Western States District Conference held April 29-May 1 and hosted by Immaculate Conception Parish’s Pope John Paul Court No. 203.

Octavia Ruben-Simien, a member of St. Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary at Immaculate Conception and co-chairwoman of the conference, said the record turnout exceeded all expectations.

“The conference was crowded with our own members and new people we were able to show who we are and what we do,” Ruben-Simien said.

Bishop Joseph J. Madera, a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, now retired and serving as director of St. John Vianney House in Sacramento, celebrated one of three Masses during the event.

Deacon Gerald Pauly, parish steward at Immaculate Conception Parish, who facilitated arrangements for the convention’s liturgical services, described the Mass as “very alive, with vibrant Gospel music, liturgical dancers and a great homily.”

“We were able to bring the Holy Spirit into the meetings because we had God with us every step of the way,” Ruben-Simien said.

Founded in 1909 in Mobile, Ala., by four Josephite priests and three laymen, the Knights of Peter Claver involves families in supporting the work of pastors and parish-based ministries.

The Ladies Auxiliary was formed as a division of the Knights of Peter Claver in 1926, followed by the establishment of Junior Daughters and Junior Knights for girls and boys under 18.

Anderson Shaw, Western States District Deputy, a primary speaker at the event, said that when the Knights of Peter Claver was first formed over 90 years ago, its membership was exclusively African American.

“In the beginning it was a group of men not exactly tied to the church or recognized by the church,” said Shaw of a period in U.S. history when few fraternal organizations welcomed African Americans. “The Knights gave a place to people under-represented. People on the fringe of church became part of the mainstream.”

Today the organization strives to reflect the ethnic diversity of parish communities.

Shaw, who provides leadership for the Knights of Peter Claver in California and six other Western states, was raised by Baptist parents in Jackson, Miss.

After moving to Los Angeles at the age of 18, he converted to Catholicism.

A community activist, Shaw, who served for several years as president of the California African American Museum, appreciates that the Knights of Peter Claver work on parish-based projects that provide scholarships for students and food and shelter for people in need.

“My pastor always says when he’s looking for a group of men to do something, his first thought is the Knights of Peter Claver,” Shaw said.

Today Shaw and his wife Audrey, a member of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, are actively involved in the organization as members of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Los Angeles and participate at district and national levels.

“We evangelize by word, by action, and by support of each other,” he said. “We’re lifting up the church and do that throughout the country.”

Micaela LeBlanc is Western States District Deputy for the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary. For LeBlanc, who became a Junior Daughter at the age of seven, the Catholic organization is family.

Born and raised in the small town of Jennings, La., LeBlanc said her home town was a place where if activities weren’t held at the local Catholic church, “you weren’t going to get asked.”

“The Ladies Auxiliary took an interest in me and my younger sister, paid our dues and got us involved,” said LeBlanc, who was state president for the Junior Daughters and then rose up through the ranks to become a district officer. “It groomed us to be good citizens, and to be good leaders. I got to see outside of Louisiana because of this organization.”

She said her primary role at the convention in Sacramento was to expand the membership of the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver in the West.

“There is strength in numbers,” said Le Blanc, who noted that national membership is 40,000 in 33 states and the District of Columbia. “We’re actively looking to establish courts and councils in parishes where there are none,” she said.

Shaw said that perhaps the greatest accomplishment in the organization over time is the growth of vocations among African Americans to religious life.

“I’ve been at conventions now where we’ve had six or seven African American bishops at Mass and think back to 1909 when there wasn’t one,” he said. “What a wonderful witness to the universality of our church.”

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