Augustine Tolton (April 1, 1854 – July 9, 1897), was the first Roman Catholic priest in the United States publicly known to be black when he was ordained in 1886. A former slave who was baptized and reared Catholic, Tolton studied formally in Rome. He was ordained in Rome on Easter Sunday of 1886 at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. Assigned to the diocese of Alton (now the Diocese of Springfield), Tolton first ministered to his home parish in Quincy, Illinois. Later assigned to Chicago, Tolton led the development and construction of St. Monica's Catholic Church as a black "national parish church", completed in 1893 at 36th and Dearborn Streets on Chicago's South Side.
Tolton was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1886 at age 31. Expecting to serve in an African mission, he had been studying its regional cultures and languages. Instead, he was directed to return to the United States to serve the black community.
Tolton is the subject of the 1973 biography From Slave to Priest by Sister Caroline Hemesath. The book was reissued by Ignatius Press in 2006.
On March 2, 2010, Cardinal George of Chicago announced that he was beginning an official investigation into Tolton's life and virtues with a view to opening the cause for his canonization. This cause for sainthood is also being advanced by the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, where Tolton first served as priest, as well as the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, where his family was enslaved.
On February 24, 2011, the Roman Catholic Church officially began the formal introduction of the cause for sainthood of Fr. Augustus Tolton, which must take place in a public session. He is now designated Servant of God Fr. Augustus Tolton. Also at this time there was the establishment of historical and theological commissions, which will investigate the life of Fr. Tolton, and the Father Tolton Guild,[ which is responsible for the promotion of his cause through spiritual and financial endeavors.