Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will join eight fellow priests from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and 48 parishioners at the ninth National Black Catholic Congress. The Cardinal will take part in the Opening Prayer Service on Thursday, August 29, 2002. The Congress will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago and ends on Sunday, September 1, 2002.

The theme of Congress IX is Black Catholic Leadership in the 21st Century: Solidarity in Action. The National Black Catholic Congress draws people together every five years to celebrate their Catholicism and plan for the future of African-Americans in the Catholic Church. It is expected that three thousand of the 2.5 million African-American Catholics will participate in the 2002 Congress.

This year's Congress is also intended to encourage and support active participation of young people. They will join in the general activities of Congress IX but there will also be specific activities such as performances and leadership programs. The major presenter for youth seminars is Reverend Anthony Bozeman, Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Grace in Penndel, Bucks County.

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