Rev. Manuel B. Williams, C.R., CFRE, M.Div., Th.M.

JDirector of Resurrection Catholic Missions

Rev. Manuel B. Williams, C.R., CFRE, M.Div., Th.M. has served as Director of Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, Inc. and Pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church in Montgomery, Alabama, since July 1990. Born in Aliceville and raised in Montgomery, Father Williams graduated from Resurrection Catholic School (1971), St. Jude Educational Institute High School (1975), the University of Notre Dame (B.A., 1979), Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis (M.Div., 1987), the National Institute for Planned Giving at the College of William and Mary (1993), and Xavier University of Louisiana (Th.M., 2015). He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching at Aquinas Institute of Theology. Father Williams professed his first vows on May 30, 1982, and was ordained on May 23, 1987, as a member of the Congregation of the Resurrection. He served thirteen years on the Congregation’s Provincial Council and, before returning to Montgomery, was Director of Student Activities and a religion instructor at Gordon Technical High School (now DePaul Academy) in Chicago, Illinois. He has served on numerous boards, including Catholic Social Services, Montgomery Advocacy and Outreach, the United Way, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, and the National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC), where he was Chairman of the Board in 2017–2018. More recently, he completed service on the board of Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR) and Alabama Appleseed. He currently serves on the boards of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Faith in Action Alabama (as treasurer), and Catholic Mobilizing Network. He has also served as Alabama District Chaplain and local chapter president for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. A graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class XIII and Leadership Alabama, Father Williams preaches revivals and missions across the United States, specializing in African American Catholic spirituality and history. He is an adjunct instructor at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, where he teaches courses in preaching and pastoral leadership, and served as Co-Director from 2017–2020. In 2021, he co-taught a course on anti-racism preaching with Fr. Greg Heille, OP, D.Min., of the Aquinas Institute of Theology. Father Williams is also a contributing author to Preaching Racial Justice (Orbis Books, 2023). He is currently working on the Black Catholic Flourishing project, commissioned by FADICA.