Alex C. Jones Jr. (September 18, 1941 – January 14, 2017) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

Catholic

permanent deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

, preacher and leader who converted from

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

Jones was born in 1941. He graduated from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1965 with a degree in art education. From 1975 to 1982, he was the senior minister in the Zion Congregational Church of God in Christ, the second oldest

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

church in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, and from 1982 to 2000 he was the senior minister in Maranatha Christian Church, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Charismatic church in Detroit. Jones' road to conversion began in 1998, when he read the book ''Crossing the Tiber'' by Catholic apologist Stephen Ray, and thereafter began conducting some church services using

Catholic liturgy In the Catholic Church, liturgy is divine worship, the proclamation of the Gospel, and active charity. Catholic liturgies are broadly categorized as the Latin liturgical rites of the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic liturgies of the Eas ...

. This prompted many members of the church to leave. The remaining adult members of the Maranatha Christian Church voted 39 to 19 to begin the process of converting to Catholicism in June 2001. In September 2001, the remaining members started studies at St. Suzanne Catholic Church. Jones himself converted to the Catholic faith that year and led some family members to join. Jones' conversion was not well received by some Catholics, and Jones' mother left to join

Marvin Winans Marvin Lawrence Winans (born March 5, 1958) is an American pastor and gospel singer, and a member of the musical Winans family. He is also known for his recurring role in the hit show '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne''. Life and career Early life ...

' Perfecting Church. Maranatha closed in December 2001 and the church building was sold to a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

congregation. The church voted to give Jones a severance package. Jones was ordained a

in the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

on October 1, 2005. In 2007, he received a master's degree in pastoral studies degree from the

Sacred Heart Major Seminary Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Detroit, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 2016–2017, 107 seminarians, representing eleven dioceses and two religious orders were enrolled in cl ...

. Jones has written a book entitled ''No Price too High'', detailing the circumstances of his conversion to the Catholic faith. He was a member of Prince of Peace Catholic Church.

Death

Jones died on January 15, 2017, due to heart attack complications. He was survived by a wife and three grown sons.

References

1941 births 2017 deaths Former Pentecostals American Roman Catholic deacons American Roman Catholics Wayne State College alumni Sacred Heart Major Seminary alumni Converts to Roman Catholicism from Evangelicalism African-American Catholics African-American Christian clergy American Christian clergy 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people {{Africa-reli-bio-stub