March 11

Births - Religious Figures & Clergy

1884day.year

Lewi Pethrus

(1884 - 1974)

Swedish minister and hymn-writer

Swedish Pentecostal minister and influential hymn-writer who shaped 20th-century Scandinavian Christianity.

Pethrus co-founded the Swedish Pentecostal movement and served as head of the Filadelfia Church in Stockholm. Over his decades of leadership, he championed Pentecostal worship, missions, and Bible schools throughout Sweden. He authored numerous hymns and spiritual songs that remain in use across Pentecostal congregations. Pethrus also engaged in social initiatives, establishing orphanages and vocational programs. His legacy endures in Sweden's free church traditions and global Pentecostalism.

1884 Lewi Pethrus

1926day.year

Ralph Abernathy

(1926 - 1990)

American minister and activist

American pastor and civil rights activist who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr.

Born in 1926 in Linden, Alabama. Served as a Baptist minister and leading figure in the American civil rights movement. Co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and organized campaigns like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches. A close associate and deputy of Martin Luther King Jr., he led the SCLC after King's assassination. Authored several works on civil rights and social justice. Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

1926 Ralph Abernathy