Those of you who know President Williams personally or have even just said no more than “Hi! How are you?” to him in passing probably know that he is Catholic. What you may not know is that he wasn’t raised in the Catholic Church.
President Williams was born and raised in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), a protestant denomination. In an interview, he explained that everyone in his family – his mother, father, sister, grandma, aunts – are or were AME pastors. He described the church services as “very energetic with people praising loudly”. Joining the Catholic Church was not something he originally planned to do, but has found it to be a welcomed change in his life.
Like anyone, President Williams had some exposure to the Catholic Church but didn’t think much of it. The first time he started to see Catholicism as more than simply a way some people lived and represented in the crucifixes hung in every classroom, was when he taught Higher Ed for the first time at the University of Notre Dame where he worked for 5 years. He was comfortable living as an AME and going to a Catholic university because no one asked him about his faith. When I asked him if he held any stigmas related to the Catholic faith, he referred to the clergy scandal saying he was aware it was an issue but also understood that Catholicism was not to blame but the individuals who committed the acts by abusing their power. Every religion has its dark moments, but that does not mean that the religion itself causes people to do bad things. It is only when people misinterpret the teaching of their faith tradition that beliefs and actions become extreme, twisting off from the original, benevolent message of the faith tradition.
President Williams did not consider learning more about Catholicism until he came to The Mount and experienced the kindness and generosity potent within the Mount community. It started when he came to interview for the role of President of Mount St. Joseph University. He was invited to tour the campus, and at the time, had been going to Catholic Masses regularly while living in Nashville, TN. He explained wanting to become more knowledgeable about the Catholic values, beliefs, and traditions on campus. President Williams decided to go to Mass right before his interview. Being from an AME Church, he was used to bringing his Bible with him because church attendees would open their Bibles to the scripture for the day and read and discuss it as a group. He took his Bible that was personalized with his name and favorite Bible verse on the cover. Inside was an agenda for the day detailing his interview for President of Mount St. Joseph University. After the Mass, he left for his interview, leavening his Bible in the pew (his seat) on accident. When he got home after the interview and realized he forgot his Bible, he called the church’s office to ask if they had a Lost & Found. A woman picked up the phone and President Williams explained that he left his Bible in the pew and was wondering if anyone had brought it to the Lost & Found. The woman said it was there and mentioned seeing his agenda when she was trying to see whose Bible it was. She had seen his interview plans and said, “I prayed for you that you would get the job”. He later learned that she is a Mount alum. From that point on, he began to view Catholicism differently. After a few years of being at MSJ and being exposed to the campus life, environment, and traditions, he had enough understanding of the faith and Catholics in his life that Catholicism started to influence him. That is when he started to consider becoming Catholic. He knew he had to understand Catholicism to better understand the Mount, so he met with Sr. Karen, Fr. Jim Walsh from St. Dominic Parish, Sr. Barbara Davis, S.J., and Prof. John Trokan monthly to ask questions. Eventually, Sr. Joan Cooke, former president of the Sisters of Charity, nominated him for conversion at St. Dominic Parish. He stated not regretting it as his renewed faith has placed him in greater harmony with himself.
There were many people who were eager to support him on his faith journey. A notable individual is Sr. Jean Cooke who hired President Williams and now serves as a spiritual mentor whom he keeps in contact with. Every year on the anniversary of his conversion, she will send him something to celebrate and help strengthen his faith. Sr. Joan also went on a trip to Rome with President Williams and other people from The Mount to attend a meeting for the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) in 2022. This pilgrimage became a powerful event in President Williams’ faith journey. He and his wife, Carolyn, were immersed in the history and beauty of Catholicism during this 2-week trip. It became an influential part of how he views Catholicism.
Every faith journey comes with its trials. At the AME Church, they had grape juice to represent Jesus’s blood and crackers representing His body during communion on the first Sunday of every month. When he wanted to receive the Eucharist (the bread that Catholics believe is truly Jesus’s body, blood, soul, and divinity) at Mass, he was told he couldn’t receive Communion unless he truly believed. This was tough for him to reconcile. It led to a conversation with his mom, a retired AME pastor. She was supportive of his conversion and told him it was ok if it was how he chose to express his faith. Through the monthly meetings with campus staff, he now feels comfortable that the bread and wine are truly Jesus.
Since converting, he has greatly appreciated how he has been welcomed into the faith. He was pleasantly surprised by how kind and inviting everyone was, especially during the Sign of Peace at Mass (a time when everyone shakes hands or gives hugs to wish peace on the other members). President Williams’ favorite part of being Catholic has been the community within the Catholic Church and MSJ. He described that when, at other universities when he got to a leadership position, he had to control himself when wanting to pray before meetings. He couldn’t ask people to pray because the university was not Christian, so he asked for a moment of silence instead. While everyone else was having a moment of silence, he was praying. Then he came to MSJ and found that they start every meeting. “Prayer has made my whole life better.”
Becoming Catholic has greatly influenced how President Williams lives out his role as professor and president. He uses Jesus’s emphasis on learning to inform his teaching. Additionally, his parents taught him the values and importance of humility and support. A speech by Jim Valvano, a famous coach for North Carolina University, became a life motto for President Williams. When giving a speech to raise funds for the Jim Valvano organization as Valvano was nearing his final days, he said, “Don’t ever give up, don’t ever give up…you know, you ever think about what it takes to have a great day? In a great day, you ought to laugh, think deeply, and have emotions that move you to tears. If you’ve laughed, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.” This quote resonated with President Williams and he finds himself having many great days (as defined by Valvano) at MSJ. “On a daily basis, or at least once a week, my emotions are moved almost to tears….tears of joy.” He reminisced about witnessing people’s kindness on campus every day and that moves him deeply. He explained that Luke 12:48 has been a driving force in his life and faith: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” “When God gives you abilities, he expects you to do something with them,” President Williams explained. He remembers including this verse in very first speech at MSJ, using it to propel staff and faculty toward change.
I asked him, “What would you say to current or prospective students who might be wrestling with what they believe and balancing a spiritual life with being a college student?” He replied saying, “One of the things comforting about Catholicism is the concept of faith and reason.” He told students that the Lord expects us to use reason to educate ourselves and expand our intellect. President Williams encourages students to exercise their faith in the same way they exercise their intellectual abilities. Many people say, “You either believe in God or in reason,” when in reality, it is because we use critical thinking skills to question the world around us that we come to recognize the presence of God all around us. The Catholic faith suggests and proves faith and reason go together.