SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Pope Francis has positioned for sainthood a former slave and the first known black priest in America.

The pontiff on Wednesday declared the Rev. Augustine Tolton of Quincy “venerable.” The Diocese of Springfield announced that the designation means that Tolton lived a life of “heroic virtue.”

Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri in 1854. His mother and two siblings escaped across the Mississippi River to freedom in 1862 with Confederate soldiers firing on them.

Tolton studied for the priesthood in Rome because no American seminary would accept a black man. But he was returned to his home in Quincy upon ordination at age 31. He later moved to Chicago and ministered to the poor.

Church officials are investigating possible miracles attributed to Tolton which could lead to his canonization.