Plans for The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton announced at historic St. Boniface Church in Quincy

QUINCY, Ill. — The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois announced April 29 plans to establish The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton at the historic St. Boniface Church in Quincy, marking a significant moment for both the local community and the Catholic Church in the United States. Father Tolton is known as the first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States. He grew up in Quincy, ministered there, and is buried there. He is currently on the path to sainthood in the Catholic Church.

The announcement was made during a news conference held outside St. Boniface Church, located at 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 Father Tolton. It was at this location — then a different church building — that Father 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,” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois said. “To restore St. Boniface as a shrine dedicated to Father 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. This shrine will place Quincy firmly on the spiritual map for pilgrims seeking inspiration, healing, and deeper faith.”

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 dollars 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 Father Tolton’s intercession — especially for seminarians and priests, for patience amid trials, for reconciliation between enemies, and for harmony among peoples — all things Father Tolton endured in his life. Daily Mass will be celebrated at the shrine and plans also include a small museum and a gift shop to support its ongoing mission.

Father Steven Arisman is leading the fundraising effort as the 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,” Father Arisman said. “I encourage Catholics everywhere to prayerfully consider supporting this project. By helping build this shrine, you are helping preserve Father Tolton’s legacy and offering future generations a place where hearts can be lifted to God and lives transformed by grace.”

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.

Father Augustine Tolton was born into slavery in 1854. In 1862, his mother and siblings made a daring escape across the Mississippi River to Illinois, eventually settling in Quincy. He attended St. Peter’s Catholic School and discerned a call to the priesthood, but no American seminary would accept a black man. Tolton ultimately studied in Rome, where he was ordained a priest. Though he believed he would serve in Africa, he was instead sent back to Quincy, arriving to a hero’s welcome. Known for his powerful preaching and beautiful singing, Father Tolton ministered in Quincy for several years before later transferring to Chicago. He died of heatstroke on July 9, 1897, at the age of 43, and is buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Quincy. On June 12, 2019, Pope Francis declared him “Venerable,” the second of four steps toward sainthood. The “Venerable” designation means he is officially recognized as living a life of heroic virtue by the Catholic Church.

Bishop Joseph Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, is leading the cause for the canonization of Father 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 Father Tolton died and is currently ongoing at the Vatican. The focus now is on documenting a miracle that the pope declares is attributable to Father Tolton’s intercession. That would pave the way for his beatification and would make Father Tolton “Blessed.” Another miracle that the pope declares is attributable to the intercession of Father Tolton would then make him a “Saint.”

“Father 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,” Bishop Perry said. “In the end, his faith, hope, and love were found intact.”

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 Father Tolton.

“Father Tolton overcame the odds of slavery, prejudice, and racism, to become a humble priest and someone after whom we should model our lives,” Bishop Paprocki said. “He carried his crosses in life quietly and heroically. 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.”

Those interested in learning more about Father Tolton, the shrine, St. Boniface Church, or donating can visit toltonshrine.org.

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.