Background
George Clements was born George Harold Clements in Chicago, Illinois on January 26, 1932 to Samuel George, a Chicago city auditor, and Aldonia (Peters) Clements.
George Clements was born George Harold Clements in Chicago, Illinois on January 26, 1932 to Samuel George, a Chicago city auditor, and Aldonia (Peters) Clements.
He attended Corpus Christi Elementary School in Chicago, and graduated from Chicago"s Quigley Academy Seminary in 1945. He studied at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sacred Theology, and a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy.
Through his founding of several programs, including one church-one child, one church-one addict, and one church-one inmate, he brought greater recognition to social problems and encouraged the adoption of African-American children. He is also well known for his involvement in civil rights activities during a period that extended from the late 1960s to present. Clements became an ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 3, 1957.
1945: Became the first black graduate of Quigley Academy Seminary in Chicago, Illinois.
May 3, 1957: Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Chicago, Illinois by Cardinal Samuel Stritch. 1960s: Marched on Selma, Alabama with Reverend Martin Luther King, Junior.
1969 Became pastor of Holy Angels Church in Chicago, a position that he held until 1991. 1980: Originated the one church-one child program concept.
1994: Started the one church-one addict program
1999: Started the one church-one inmate program May 4, 2007: Completed fiftieth year as a Roman Catholic priest. Clements started the One Church-One Child program locally in Chicago at Holy Angels Church in 1980.
Though the program was started locally in Chicago, it became a national effort in 1988.
The goal of the program was to use churches as a recruitment tool to find adoptive parents for African-American children, a demographic group that often has disproportionately long adoption waiting periods. After retiring from Holy Angels, Clements moved to Washington, District of Columbia In 1994, Clements started a program known as "one church-one addict".
The goal of the program was to assist churches nationwide in helping recovering drug addicts through job counseling, spiritual consolation, and professional treatment. In 1999, Clements started a program called one church-one inmate, a collaborative effort to help prison inmates and their families.
The program was designed to facilitate the transition of inmates from incarcerated life to a life as productive and "spiritually healed" law-abiding citizens.
The Father Clements Story was produced as a television movie by National Broadcasting Company and starred actors Lou Gossett, Junior., Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Carroll O"Connor. Gossett, Junior. played Father Clements, Warner played Clements" adopted son Joey, and O"Connor played Cardinal John Cody, the Archbishop of Chicago. 1977: Named priest of the year by the Association of Chicago Priests.