Plans for The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton announced at historical St. Boniface Church in Quincy, Illinois

His life truly shows that all of us — no matter how ordinary we think we are — can do extraordinary things and live a heroic Christian life.”

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield in Illinois

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has announced plans to establish The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton (toltonshrine.org) at the historical St. Boniface Church in Quincy, marking a significant moment for both the local community and the Catholic Church in the United States.

Venerable Fr. Tolton, who was born and baptized in what is now part of the Jefferson City diocese, is known as the first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States.

Born into a family of enslaved people, he escaped with his mother and siblings to Illinois during the Civil War, grew up in Quincy, ministered there, and is buried there.

He is currently on the path to being declared a saint in the Catholic Church.

The establishment of the shrine was announced during an April 29 news conference outside St. Boniface Church, 641 Maine St., a site of profound historical and spiritual importance.

Although the church closed in 2020, it will be reopened and restored as the future shrine honoring Fr. Tolton.

It was at this location — at that time in a different church building — that Fr. Tolton offered his first public Mass in Quincy, making it a natural and fitting site for a shrine dedicated to his life, witness and growing legacy of holiness.

“This is an extraordinary moment not only for our area, but for the Catholic Church in our country,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield in Illinois.

“To restore St. Boniface as a shrine dedicated to Fr. Tolton means preserving sacred history while creating a living place of prayer, hope and renewal — all tied to a holy priest whose life is an example of authentic discipleship of Christ,” he said. “This shrine will place Quincy firmly on the spiritual map for pilgrims seeking inspiration, healing, and deeper faith.”

A place of prayer

The Quincy-based Committee for The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton is now beginning the work of raising funds to renovate the church and grounds to make it a shrine and to welcome pilgrims from around the world.

The cost to renovate the church is estimated at $5 million, and organizers are now formally inviting Catholics everywhere to support prayerfully and financially what they describe as a “holy endeavor.”

An additional $5 million to $7 million will also be needed for campus expansion and to establish an endowment to ensure the shrine is perpetually cared for.

The shrine is envisioned to be an intimate and sacred place where pilgrims can pray for Fr. Tolton’s intercession — especially for seminarians and priests, for patience amid trials, for reconciliation between enemies, and for harmony among peoples — all things Fr. Tolton encountered during his life.

Daily Mass will be celebrated at the shrine. Plans also include a small museum and a gift shop to support its ongoing mission.

Father Steven Arisman is leading the fundraising effort as chairman of the Committee for The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton.

He also serves as pastor of St. Francis Solanus Parish in Quincy.

“This shrine will only be possible through the generosity of the faithful,” Fr. Arisman said. “I encourage Catholics everywhere to prayerfully consider supporting this project.”

Model of holiness

According to the Code of Canon Law, a shrine is “a church or other sacred place to which the faithful make pilgrimages for a particular pious reason with the approval of the local ordinary” (c. 1230).

While tourists travel to see and experience, pilgrims journey to encounter the sacred and return home changed. A shrine, therefore, is a place where the faithful come to pray, do penance, receive the sacraments, and grow in friendship with God through the witness of the saints.

Fr. Tolton was born to enslaved parents in Northeastern Missouri in 1854. He was baptized where the historical St. Peter Chapel in Brush Creek now stands.

In 1862, his mother and siblings made a daring escape across the Mississippi River to Illinois, eventually settling in Quincy.

Young Gus attended St. Peter School in Quincy and discerned a call to the Priesthood, but no American seminary would accept a Black man.

He ultimately studied in Rome, where he was ordained a priest.

Though he believed he would serve as a missionary in Africa, he was instead sent back to Quincy, arriving to a hero’s welcome.

Known for his powerful preaching and beautiful singing, Fr. Tolton ministered in Quincy for several years before later transferring to Chicago.

He died of heatstroke on July 9, 1897, at age 43, and is buried in St. Peter Cemetery in Quincy, in keeping with his wishes.

On June 12, 2019, Pope Francis declared him “Venerable,” the second of four steps toward sainthood.

The “Venerable” designation means Fr. Tolton is officially recognized by the Church as having lived a life of heroic virtue.

In search of a miracle

Bishop Joseph Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, is leading the cause for the canonization of Fr. Tolton, serving as the local postulator for his sainthood cause.

The cause was formally opened in 2010 by the Archdiocese of Chicago — because that is where Fr. Tolton died — and is currently ongoing at the Vatican.

The focus now is on documenting a miracle that the pope declares, after exhaustive investigation, as attributable to Fr. Tolton’s intercession.

That would pave the way for Fr. Tolton’s beatification and declaring him “Blessed.”

Another miracle that the pope declares is attributable to the intercession of Fr. Tolton would then make him a “Saint.”

“Fr. Tolton’s own struggles pose a shining example of how to grapple with disappointment, protracted disappointments that constrain our lives, as well as how to endure when endurance may appear illogical,” said Bishop Perry. “In the end, his faith, hope and love were found intact.”

“Quietly and heroically”

A timeline for the shrine project has not been set, as it is dependent on fundraising efforts and construction schedules.

For now, diocesan and local leaders say the vision is clear: to restore a sacred space, honor a heroic priest, and invite the world to Quincy to encounter Christ through the remarkable life of Fr. Tolton.

“Fr. Tolton overcame the odds of slavery, prejudice, and racism, to become a humble priest and someone after whom we should model our lives,” said Bishop Paprocki.

“He carried his crosses in life quietly and heroically,” the bishop continued. “What a source of great pride to have the nation’s first Black priest and someone who is on his way to sainthood live and minister in our diocese, in Quincy!

“His life truly shows that all of us — no matter how ordinary we think we are — can do extraordinary things and live a heroic Christian life,” Bishop Paprocki stated.

The tabernacle from St. Boniface Church now serves its holy function in the Adoration Chapel in the Kirksville Newman Center.

The shrine announcement coincided with another milestone for the historic St. Boniface Church.

In late 2024, the Quincy City Council officially designated St. Boniface Church as a Landmark Property, recognizing its architectural and cultural significance.

At the April 29 event, Bishop Paprocki blessed the new plaque that is fixed on the outside of the church recognizing its new status.

For information about Fr. Tolton, the shrine, St. Boniface Church, or donating, visit toltonshrine.org.