Musician, Hymn Writer, African-American Priest
The Reverend Dr. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers, the first African-American priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died at his home. Fr. Rivers was a well known Catholic liturgist who contributed to the first official American mass in English after the Second Vatican Council in 1963. His hymns were reminiscent of earlier African American spirituals and led to the acceptance of black Catholic music in liturgy. In 1966 he received the annual award of the Catholic Art Association for excellence in music. He traveled extensively, offering workshops and worship services founded on the idea that music used for worship should convey the drama and the power of the African American religious experience. Father Rivers was ordained a priest in 1956, spent time teaching at Purcell High School, then graduate studies in English at Xavier and Yale universities, then at The Catholic University of America, and liturgy at L'Institut Catholique de Paris. He completed a PhD in African American culture and Catholic liturgy at the Union Institute in 1978. Also, Father Rivers was a founding member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a recipient of the Berakah Award in 2002, the first director of the National Office of Black Catholics Department of Culture and Worship and the editor of its journal, Freeing the Spirit. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers is survived by a sister, Maxine E. Rivers of Washington, DC and two nieces, Christa Rivers (Enrique) Caceres and Sasha A. Rivers.
The Reverend Dr. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers, the first African-American priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died at his home. Fr. Rivers was a well known Catholic liturgist who contributed to the first official American mass in English after the Second Vatican Council in 1963. His hymns were reminiscent of earlier African American spirituals and led to the acceptance of black Catholic music in liturgy. In 1966 he received the annual award of the Catholic Art Association for excellence in music. He traveled extensively, offering workshops and worship services founded on the idea that music used for worship should convey the drama and the power of the African American religious experience. Father Rivers was ordained a priest in 1956, spent time teaching at Purcell High School, then graduate studies in English at Xavier and Yale universities, then at The Catholic University of America, and liturgy at L'Institut Catholique de Paris. He completed a PhD in African American culture and Catholic liturgy at the Union Institute in 1978. Also, Father Rivers was a founding member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a recipient of the Berakah Award in 2002, the first director of the National Office of Black Catholics Department of Culture and Worship and the editor of its journal, Freeing the Spirit. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers is survived by a sister, Maxine E. Rivers of Washington, DC and two nieces, Christa Rivers (Enrique) Caceres and Sasha A. Rivers.
Musician, Hymn Writer, African-American Priest
The Reverend Dr. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers, the first African-American priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died at his home. Fr. Rivers was a well known Catholic liturgist who contributed to the first official American mass in English after the Second Vatican Council in 1963. His hymns were reminiscent of earlier African American spirituals and led to the acceptance of black Catholic music in liturgy. In 1966 he received the annual award of the Catholic Art Association for excellence in music. He traveled extensively, offering workshops and worship services founded on the idea that music used for worship should convey the drama and the power of the African American religious experience. Father Rivers was ordained a priest in 1956, spent time teaching at Purcell High School, then graduate studies in English at Xavier and Yale universities, then at The Catholic University of America, and liturgy at L'Institut Catholique de Paris. He completed a PhD in African American culture and Catholic liturgy at the Union Institute in 1978. Also, Father Rivers was a founding member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a recipient of the Berakah Award in 2002, the first director of the National Office of Black Catholics Department of Culture and Worship and the editor of its journal, Freeing the Spirit. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers is survived by a sister, Maxine E. Rivers of Washington, DC and two nieces, Christa Rivers (Enrique) Caceres and Sasha A. Rivers.
The Reverend Dr. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers, the first African-American priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died at his home. Fr. Rivers was a well known Catholic liturgist who contributed to the first official American mass in English after the Second Vatican Council in 1963. His hymns were reminiscent of earlier African American spirituals and led to the acceptance of black Catholic music in liturgy. In 1966 he received the annual award of the Catholic Art Association for excellence in music. He traveled extensively, offering workshops and worship services founded on the idea that music used for worship should convey the drama and the power of the African American religious experience. Father Rivers was ordained a priest in 1956, spent time teaching at Purcell High School, then graduate studies in English at Xavier and Yale universities, then at The Catholic University of America, and liturgy at L'Institut Catholique de Paris. He completed a PhD in African American culture and Catholic liturgy at the Union Institute in 1978. Also, Father Rivers was a founding member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a recipient of the Berakah Award in 2002, the first director of the National Office of Black Catholics Department of Culture and Worship and the editor of its journal, Freeing the Spirit. Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers is survived by a sister, Maxine E. Rivers of Washington, DC and two nieces, Christa Rivers (Enrique) Caceres and Sasha A. Rivers.
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