Fr. Manuel B. Williams, CR, MDiv

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
currently serves on the boards of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Faith in Action Alabama (as
treasurer), and Alabama Appleseed. 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).