00:00Pierre Clavert was born in 1580 in Spain.
00:03As a young man, he joined the Jesuits.
00:06That's where he met Alphonse Rodriguez,
00:09which inspires him to dedicate himself to the missions.
00:12Pierre feels a powerful calling to serve the most vulnerable.
00:15and it was towards the New World, particularly African slaves,
00:19that his heart carries him.
00:22In 1610, he landed in Cartagena, in New Granada, present-day Colombia,
00:27one of the largest slave ports in the Americas.
00:31What he sees is unbearable.
00:33Thousands of men, women, and children,
00:36Packed together, sick, terrified, disembarked in inhumane conditions.
00:42For Peter, each ship is a new opportunity to encounter the suffering Christ.
00:48He devoted the next 40 years of his life to his souls.
00:53As soon as a slave ship arrives,
00:55Pierre is the first to board, braving the smells, the filth, the disease.
01:01He brings food, fresh water, medicine,
01:05and above all, compassion.
01:08He learns a few words of their different languages.
01:11or uses interpreters to speak to them,
01:14comfort them, explain the Gospel to them.
01:17He sees in each person an inalienable dignity.
01:21He baptizes them.
01:23It is estimated that he baptized nearly 300,000 people.
01:26after having catechized them as best they could under these extreme conditions.
01:32Pierre Clavert was literally the slave of slaves.
01:36He fought to improve their conditions,
01:40sought to protect them from abuse.
01:42he visited them on the plantations.
01:45His work was often frowned upon by colonists and slave traders.
01:48But he never gave up.
01:51He demonstrated a radical love and unwavering faith.
01:56offering a face of mercy in a cruel world.
02:01Today, Pierre Clavert, whose feast day is celebrated on September 9th,
02:05is the patron saint of human rights and the fight against slavery.
02:10He reminds us that love for one's neighbor has no limits.
02:13and that the dignity of every person is sacred.
02:17His example compels us to act against all forms of injustice and marginalization.
02:23to see Christ in every suffering person,
02:26today as yesterday.
02:28Discover the Sanctus app, available on iOS and Android.
02:35Subtitling by Radio-Canada
02:36Subtitling by Radio-Canada
02:37Subtitling by Radio-Canada
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