Sr. Thea Bowman, born Bertha Elizabeth Bowman on December 29, 1937 in Yazoo Mississippi, to Dr. Theo Bowman, (physician) and wife Mary Esther Bowman a teacher. Bertha was raised in Canton Mississippi. Although Bertha was baptized Episcopalian and raised Methodist, she had an avid curiosity for all religions. “But once when I went to the Catholic Church, my wanderings ceased. I knew I had found that for which I had been seeking,” she wrote. She was baptized Catholic and made her first communion at age 9. When she was 12, her parents enrolled her at Holy Child Jesus Catholic School, which was run by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from Wisconsin. The life and work of the sisters so impressed her that, at age 15, she joined them by entering St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin where she would be the only African-American member of her religious community. At a time when Civil rights where being challenge Sr. Thea forge forward through prejudice anger and resentment, she progressed successfully through the formative years of religious life and the academic world. Thea received a doctorate in English Literature and Linguistics from Catholic University of America. During these years, she developed a deep appreciation for her identity as both an African American and as a Catholic. As her mission unfolded, she celebrated the gifts of all people and encouraged Black Americans to proudly celebrate their own identity, being fully black and fully Catholic and being a full participant in spiritual lives.  Blessed with extraordinary talent, she became a poet, a preacher, a master teacher, a vocalist, an evangelist, and an African American catalyst.  Sr. Thea Bowman taught young people about the joy of being Christian and she challenged her church to accept her as “fully Black and fully Catholic.