"Thea Bowman, minister of gospel equality for all, exemplified what it means to joyously celebrate the love of God while teaching the gospel of justice.

After a celebrated career in higher education, she turned her tremendous energy and love toward teaching others the beauty of a multicultural world. Bowman's love of music, her candid and uncompromising personal acceptance of all people, and her stirring reminders of the justice and peace implications of the gospel made an impact on millions of people, from those on street corners to those worshiping in cathedrals."

--Edward F. Gabriele, Prayer with Searchers and Saints

"Thea Bowman was one of the great treasures of the American Catholic church. As a Franciscan Sister, she managed, in her manifold witness to the gospel, to integrate the resources of her Catholic faith with her identity as an African-American woman. Ablaze with the spirit of love, the memory of struggle, and a faith in God's promises, she impressed her many audiences not just with her message but with her nobility of spirit. No one she encountered, whether school children, college students, cynical journalists, or a convention hall of bishops, could fail to catch a measure of her joy and gratitude for the gift of life.

She was a particular inspiration to the black Catholic community, helping them to assert their pride of place among the People of God, while also encouraging them to enrich the wider church with the gifts of their distinctive culture and spirituality.

Thea was an extraordinary, spellbinding speaker. A combination storyteller, preacher, and performer, she brought to her lectures the atmosphere of a revival meeting. Punctuating her speaking with renditions of the spirituals, she generally had her audiences, black or white, singing along with her before she was finished."

--Robert Ellsberg, All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, Witnesses for Our Time

"Sister Thea died in 1990 at the age of fifty two. Six years before her death, she was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to three years to live. She was stunned by the news, naturally, but chose to face death as she faced life -- with joy and with hope in her heart.

Even in her illness, or perhaps especially through her illness, Thea witnessed to her tremendous faith by maintaining her lecture schedule -- spreading the good news through her words and song and her message of hope that the world can be transformed through the love of God, self, and others.

The people who knew her best said that it was as if Sister Thea could read a person's soul or see inside a person's heart. Obviously, what she saw in the people she met was good and holy, for that is exactly how gently she treated each person. She cherished them."

--Lynn Figueroa, Women Shaping Church History

"Thea Bowman, a Franciscan sister, was a well-known lecturer, singer, teacher, and preacher. Even as she lived with terminal cancer, Thea inspired thousands of people with her joy. Living in God's presence made such joy possible, and thus Sister gladdened the hearts of others with her gift of presence."

--Robert F. Morneau, Growing in Joy

"The simple statistics of her life do not encompass the enormous magnetic appeal of Thea Bowman, whose words and music are but glimpses into the depths of her apostolic spirituality."

--Phyllis Zagano, Twentieth-Century Apostles

Resources -- audio tapes, books, and videos -- about Thea Bowman, FSPA, are available.

Graphics -- Used with permission
Top Thea Bowman -- FSPA Archives.
Bottom © Copyright: "I'll Be Singing Up There" print
by Brother Michael O'Neill McGrath; all rights reserved.