{"id":466195,"date":"2026-09-17T01:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466195\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:04:10","slug":"la-catholic-parish-celebrates-knight-of-peter-clavers-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466195\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Catholic parish celebrates Knight of Peter Claver\u2019s election"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Greg Warner Sr. was elected to the post of \u201cSupreme Navigator\u201d for the Knights of Peter Claver\u2019s<\/a> national leadership earlier this summer<\/a>, it marked the first time in the order\u2019s history that a knight from the Western U.S. had been chosen for the position.<\/p>\n

For his fellow Knights and Ladies Auxiliary in Los Angeles, the election was a cause of pride \u2013 and surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very, very shocked that anyone from LA could win anything national,\u201d said Keith LaSassier, one of Warner\u2019s fellow fourth-degree knights from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The Knights of Peter Claver are the largest historically African-American Catholic lay organization in the country. Members are dedicated to supporting parishes and apostolates through outreach to the poor, community service, and evangelization efforts.<\/p>\n

While Louisiana and Texas have long been the historical strongholds of \u201cClaverism,\u201d the election of a knight from Southern California to the supreme navigator position is a reminder of Black Catholicism\u2019s \u201cvibrant\u201d history in Los Angeles<\/a>, said F. DeKarlos Blackmon, a former supreme knight of the order.<\/p>\n

Blackmon was among those who turned out for a special Sept. 6 Mass of Thanksgiving for Warner\u2019s election at Transfiguration Church in Leimert Park, where Warner\u2019s local council is based.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Warner] is someone who can defend the faith not simply by carrying around a sword, but by his very tongue, by speaking the truth of Jesus Christ and the tenets of the faith of the Church,\u201d said Blackmon, who traveled with the order\u2019s National Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, whom he serves as vice chancellor for pastoral services for the Archdiocese of Louisville.<\/p>\n

\"FabreKnights\u2019 National Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville gives holy Communion to F. DeKarlos Blackmon at the Sept. 6, 2026 Mass. (John Rueda)<\/p>\n

Warner\u2019s personal story tracks with that of many Black Catholics of his generation in Los Angeles: His parents moved from Louisiana to California when he was 9 years old and enrolled him in local Catholic schools. He went on to start a family and launch his own business, a printing company in Gardena.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, his pastor at the time, Father Jarlath Dolan, and fellow Transfiguration parishioners encouraged him to join the Knights of Peter Claver. Since then, Warner has served in many leadership positions for them on the West Coast.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg Warner loves the Knights of Peter Claver,\u201d said LaSassier, who has known Warner for more than 20 years. \u201cHe goes above and beyond, even to the point when it\u2019s annoying. He\u2019s very forward. He doesn\u2019t mince his words, doesn\u2019t bite his tongue. There\u2019s no phoniness about him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner\u2019s election comes as the order faces the same challenges confronting Church leaders across the country: decreased Mass attendance, a decline in vocations to the priesthood, and polarization across political and ideological lines.<\/p>\n

As navigator, Warner will be responsible for helping \u201cexemplify,\u201d or formally induct, the order\u2019s highest ranking fourth-degree members across the U.S. \u2014 among them bishops \u2014 and reducing the financial burden of costs like ceremonial regalia. But his more pressing duty will be to find ways to strengthen the order\u2019s ranks through member retention and recruitment.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fourth degree Knights of Peter Claver from Los Angeles lead the honor guard at the Sept. 6 Mass of Thanksgiving for Warner\u2019s election at Transfiguration Church. (John Rueda)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get younger people to come, because that\u2019s where the life is,\u201d Warner told Angelus. \u201cIt\u2019s about getting them more active in the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Los Angeles, the knights\u2019 emphasis on inclusivity has brought in young members like 26-year-old Steven Camerena.<\/p>\n

Raised by immigrant parents from Mexico, Camarena started taking the Catholic faith seriously by attending St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in Watts as a teenager. His search for community\u00a0 and mentorship led him to enter the parish\u2019s local Knights of Peter Claver council seven years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the order grows more among Black Catholics, but also to other colored communities within the Church,\u201d said Camarena, who attended the Mass for Warner in his regalia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe knights don\u2019t segregate anybody, it\u2019s open arms and everybody comes. As a Mexican American, I feel welcome with my brothers. I feel fraternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Local Knights and Ladies Auxiliary of Peter Claver pose with bishops and clergy after the Sept. 6, 2026, Mass of Thanksgiving for Warner\u2019s election at Transfiguration Church in Los Angeles. (John Rueda)<\/p>\n

Camarena said that the mostly older knights on his council teach him \u201chow to be a man in today\u2019s world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve taught me to work through obstacles, what fatherhood looks like,\u201d said Camarena. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been a way to keep myself grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Sept. 6 Mass, Fabre expressed confidence in Warner and, citing Jesus\u2019 instructions in the Sunday Gospel on how to handle disagreements among believers, acknowledged the obstacles he will face.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this role you will be called upon to bring healing, reconciliation, and peace to the conflicts that might arise among members,\u201d said Fabre.<\/p>\n

Blackmon, who led the knights from 2010 to 2016, said Warner\u2019s election was also a credit to Archbishop Jos\u00e9 H. Gomez, whose longstanding support for Black Catholics has helped people understand that \u201call of us can sit around the table of the Lord without regard to distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Warner\u2019s election shows] that for the Black apostolate in the Church of Los Angeles, all is not lost, that our best is still yet to come,\u201d said Blackmon.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"author<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPablo Kay is the Editor-in-Chief of Angelus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Greg Warner Sr. was elected to the post of \u201cSupreme Navigator\u201d for the Knights of Peter Claver\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-466195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}