Mission Director and Pastor Father Manuel Williams, C.R. and staff of Resurrection traveled to New Orleans this week to support the Xavier University Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) Sr. Eva Regina Martin, S.S.F., Ph.D. Lecture featuring speaker Rev. Clarence Williams, Jr., CPPS, Ph.D.
Father Clarence Williams is the founder and director of the Institute For Racial Sobriety and serves as pastor of St. James The Less Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio.
Chosen to introduce Father Clarence, Father Manuel shared the story of meeting Father Clarence’s mother when he was a young man on the cusp of priesthood. It was Father Clarence’s mother’s enthusiastic recounting of her son’s work as a Spiritan Missionary that became another source of inspiration for Father Manuel as he discerned his own vocation.
The lecture is named in honor of Sr. Eva Regina Martin, S.S.F., Ph.D., who dedicated her life to education. Sister Eva served as a teacher and principal in Louisiana before earning her Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University in 1994 and becoming Director of Archives for both Xavier and Loyola Universities. Sr. Eva also served as Director of the IBCS from 1997 to 2003 before leaving to become the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Holy Family based in New Orleans.
Though Sr. Eva passed in 2014, the lecture that bears her name celebrates not only her impact and memory, but the impact and work of individuals dedicated to advancing the gospel in the African American Catholic community and beyond.
Founded in 1980, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies prepares clergy and lay people for ministry in African American communities and offers participants the opportunity to learn in week long continuing education classes or to earn a Master’s Degree in Theology.
Father Manuel is a 2015 alumnus of the IBCS and currently serves as IBCS Interim Co-Director.
For more information on the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University, click here. For more information on the work of Rev. Clarence Williams, CPPS, Ph.D., click here.