ST. LOUIS — Louis William DuBourg was just a baby in 1767 when his father, a ship captain and merchant, embarked on a journey from West Africa to the Caribbean with 270 enslaved people aboard. Only 157 of them made it across the Atlantic alive.

The younger DuBourg was also bold. He grew up to be a famous Roman Catholic priest, who, as the first leader of what became the Archdiocese of St. Louis, bought and sold slaves.

St. Louis Bishop Joseph Rosati, the next leader of all things Catholic for an enormous new swath of the United States, enslaved at least 23 people. In 1834, he paid $250 down for Aspasia LeCompte and her child and was charged 6% interest on the remaining $250 balance. She sued for her freedom and accused Rosati of assaulting her.

Many of the personal papers of Archbishop Peter Kenrick, at the helm from 1843 to 1895, were destroyed, but surviving records show he was a slaveowner who enforced segregation in parishes and schools.

Those were among the details in a long-awaited, 95-page report released Saturday by the Archdiocese of St. Louis detailing the history of slaveholding in the church. In addition to early religious figures like DuBourg, Rosati and Kenrick, the report also highlights the slaveholding history of icons like St. Rose Philippine Duchesne and lower-level clergy.

For years, Black Catholics in St. Louis have said that the legacy still shapes the archdiocese and that something more meaningful should be done to grapple with the church's history. The archdiocese hopes the report, six years in the making, is a step toward forgiveness.

"This research is not an end, only a beginning," Eric Fair, director of Archives and Records for the archdiocese, told a group of about 100 people gathered on Saturday at the Old Cathedral for the "Forgive Us Our Trespasses" Maafa Procession. Titled after the Swahili word for "disaster," the third annual event commemorates two million lives lost during the transatlantic slave trade.

Today, the Archdiocese of St. Louis — formerly known as the "Rome of the West" — covers only the city and 10 surrounding counties. But its archives hold a trove of historical details that researchers have mined to give a fuller account of Catholic slaveholding.

While some Catholic religious orders, such as the Jesuits, have already revealed more, others have lagged behind.

After previously refusing to disclose the identities of dozens of former slaves found in church sacramental records, old financial ledgers and letters, Saturday's report publicized their names for the first time in writing. They've identified 99 people so far and included some of their stories in the report. Many are listed by first name only or brief description: "Henry," "Lady," "Chloe and Jerry."

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