February marks the beginning of Black History Month, and the Diocese’s Black Catholic Ministry Commission will be welcoming award-winning musician M. Roger Holland II.
Holland, who specializes in Black Catholic liturgical music, will perform at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, Cherry Hill. The following day, Feb. 4, he will lead the music for the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the parish.
Members of the Black Catholic Ministry Commission met Holland during the National Black Catholic Congress in July; when asked to visit the Diocese, “He jumped at the opportunity.”
Holland served as liturgical music consultant for the New York Archdiocese’s Office of Black Ministry. He has played for the Broadway productions of Oprah Winfrey’s “The Color Purple” and the Tony award-winning show “Memphis.”
In November 2016, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York presented Holland with the Pierre Toussaint Medallion for service.
Father Vincent Guest, coordinator of the Black Catholic Ministry Commission, noted that the concert “will be a rich experience representing the wonderful diversity of Black Catholic liturgical music.”
The Catholic Community of Christ Our Light is located at 402 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill.