She became an evangelist among her people, assisted in the production of an African-American Catholic hymnal, and was a popular speaker on faith and spirituality in her final years, in addition to recording music.

She also helped found the National Black Sisters' Conference to provide support for African-American women in Catholic religious life.

Bowman attended Holy Child Jesus School in Canton, Mississippi, where she met her classmate Flonzie Brown Wright.

[1][2] She became the first African-American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at La Crosse, Wisconsin at age 15, overcoming her parents' objections.

James P. Lyke, Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland (also an African-American), coordinated the hymnal project, saying it was born of the needs and aspirations of Black Catholics.

She brought her "ministry of joy" to far-ranging audiences, from Nigeria and Kenya to Canada, from the Virgin Islands to Hawaii, New York, and California.

[9] In his book Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line,[10] Christopher Pramuk wrote: Arguably no person in recent memory did more to resist and transform the sad legacy of segregation and racism in the Catholic Church than Thea Bowman ... who inspired millions with her singing and message of God's love for all races and faiths.

As her illness progressed, her fame grew and she made several overseas trips sponsored by friends, including to West Africa and Lourdes, France.

[9]In 1989, shortly before her death, in recognition of her contributions to the service of the Church, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Religion by Boston College in Massachusetts.

"[13] Harry Belafonte met her in Mississippi in 1989 hoping to do a film on her life starring Whoopi Goldberg as Bowman, though the project did not materialize.

[19] Shortly before her death, the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation was established to raise scholarship money, on a national scale, for underserved students of color who sought post-secondary education but did not have the means to attend - an endeavor Bowman saw as key to raising up the Black people.