In Brief: Black Catholics in Archdiocese attend national congress, Father Sample appointed vicar for

Photo courtesy of Catholics of African Descent

Black Catholics in Archdiocese attend national congress

The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) convenes a national congress every five years. Held July 20 to 23 this year at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, Maryland, the event joins Black Catholics and those who minister to Black Catholics in the United States together for a celebration of faith and culture. Each congress renews and develops its mission with a pastoral plan.

Father Reginald Samuels, pastor of St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Deer Park and vicar for Catholics of African Descent, “I called upon the Catholic leaders in the African American community from throughout the Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston to gather to reflect on topics to present to the NBCC for discussion during the Congress meeting in July 2023.”

Father Samuels said that, with the announcement of the congress, they were encouraged to have a local gathering to discuss the theme of the event: “Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive.”

The Archdiocesan group who attended the congress also met for A Day of Reflection and Preparation held at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church on June 17.

About 85 participants from around the Archdiocese attended the national congress in Maryland. 

Father Clark Sample appointed vicar for Clergy in Archdiocese

HOUSTON — On July 1, Father Clark Sample was appointed episcopal vicar for Clergy and director of the Secretariat for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services for the Archdiocese. His office is in the Downtown Chancery.

He is succeeding Father Tom Rafferty, who was recently appointed Ministry to Priests director.

Father Sample’s previous assignments in the Archdiocese included serving as parochial vicar at Sts. Simon and Jude Church in The Woodlands and St. John Vianney Church, and as pastor at St. Thomas More Church.

A Houston native, Father Sample attended St. Michael Catholic School and St. Thomas High School in Houston, and the University of Texas in Austin.

“After college, I moved to Fort Worth and worked in the oil and gas industry,” he said. “While in Fort Worth, I started to feel a call to the priesthood and, after discernment and guidance, I decided to enter the seminary.”

Father Sample attended Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas and the North American College in Rome, receiving a Licentiate in Sacred Theology with a focus on Dogmatic Theology. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese in 2016.

The Secretariat for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services offers oversight, coordination and support to the departments engaged in the initial and ongoing formation of clergy: Office of Vocations for Priesthood and Religious Life and Department of Seminarians, St. Mary Seminary, the Permanent Diaconate and Ministry to Priests.

It offers similar assistance to chaplaincy ministry in hospitals through the Catholic Chaplain Corps, Correctional Ministries in prisons, Seafarer and Seamen Ministries in the ports of Houston and Galveston and Airport Chaplaincy at the Intercontinental Houston Airport, the Mission Office, Ongoing Formation of Priests, Ethnic Affairs, the Office of Ecumenism and Ministry to the Deaf.

“In our Archdiocese, the vicar for Clergy Office oversees most of the activity of our priests,” Father Sample said. “As a priest and former pastor, I understand what many of our priests may be going through. My main goal is to try to observe and learn as much as possible in these early days so that I can better understand my role in the Archdiocese, evaluate the needs of our priests and form a plan for the future.”

In the meantime, Father Sample asks the faithful to “continue to pray and support all of our priests in the Archdiocese.”