- George Clements
George Clements (
January 26 ,1932 inChicago, Illinois ) is an AmericanRoman Catholic priest who made history in 1981 by becoming the first priest to adopt a child. Through his founding of One Church-One Child, One Church-One Addict and One Church-One Inmate, he benefited hundreds of thousands of people, and led to the adoption of 100,000 children nationally.In June 1969 Father Clements became the first black pastor of Holy Angels Catholic Church on the
South Side ofChicago . [ [http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=499&category=religionMakers&name=Father%20George+Clements Father George Clements] Retrieved 27-June-2008] He was involved in civil rights activities in Chicago as well.After retiring from Holy Angels, Clements moved to
Washington, D.C. There he founded several initiatives: One Church-One Child, One Church-One Addict and One Church-One Inmate. In 1981, he became the first priest to adopt a child, and later adopted three more. His One Church-One Child program spread widely and catalyzed the adoption of more than 100,000 African-American children nationwide.Popular culture
"The Father Clements Story" was produced as a film by
NBC and starred actorLou Gossett, Jr. .Honors and legacy
The Kentucky state legislature passed a resolution in his honor.
References
External links
* [http://www.holyangels.com/ Holy Angels Church, An African-American Roman Catholic Church]
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