Joseph Andrew Williams (born May 2, 1974) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in Minnesota since 2021. Pope Francis appointed Williams as Coadjutor Bishop of

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

on May 21, 2024.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Williams was born on May 2, 1974, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He has eight siblings, one of whom, Peter Williams, is a priest in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Joseph Williams attended Saint Croix Catholic School in Stillwater, Minnesota, and graduated from Stillwater High School in 1992. Williams studied at the

University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering ...

(UMN–Morris) where he was a varsity tennis player and twice competed in the NCAA Division III men's tennis championships. He graduated from UMN–Morris with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996. Williams continued his studies at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio. While there, he decided to become a priest. He received a philosophy/pre-theology degree from the university in 1998 and then entered the

Saint Paul Seminary The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Roman Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter the priesthood and permanent diaconate, and educates lay men and women o ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was awarded a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree in 2002.

Priesthood

Williams was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis by Archbishop Harry Flynn on May 28, 2002, at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. The archdiocese assigned Williams as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at the Cathedral of Saint Paul from 2002 to 2004 and Divine Mercy in Faribault from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, Williams was appointed pastor of Saint Mathias Parish in Hampton, Minnesota, and Saint Mary parish in

New Trier, Minnesota New Trier is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 112 at the 2010 census. Minnesota Highway 50 serves as a main route in the community. History A post office called New Trier was established in 1867, and remain ...

. He left both parishes in 2008 to become pastor of Saint Stephen Parish in Minneapolis. When Williams was appointed as pastor of Saint Stephen's, the parish was largely failing to follow the rubrics of the Mass of the Second Vatican Council and did not submit to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Williams' efforts to bring the parish in line with Catholic teaching resulted in many of the older parishioners walking out in the middle of Mass and leaving the parish entirely. His first Christmas Mass at the parish had no worshippers. Williams eventually rebuilt the parish into a thriving Latino community, the largest in Minnesota, with over 1,600 families. Archbishop

Bernard Hebda Bernard Anthony Hebda (born September 3, 1959) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the twelfth ordinary of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis since March 24, 2016. Prior to his installation as the ...

in 2018 named Williams as the vicar for the Latino ministry. During the 2020

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

in Minneapolis, Williams responded to a cry for help in the middle of the night from a parishioner family whose apartment building was in danger of burning down. He drove to the apartment and welcomed them into the parish rectory for safety.

Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Williams as an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on December 10, 2021. On January 25, 2022, Williams was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop

at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, with Bishops

Richard Pates Richard Edmund Pates (born February 12, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Pates served as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in Iowa from 2008 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and M ...

and

Andrew H. Cozzens Andrew Harmon Cozzens (born August 3, 1968) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota since 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese ...

acting as co-consecrators. During his time as auxiliary bishop, Williams led initiatives for Latino ministry and implementation of the 2022 Archdiocesan synod.

Coadjutor of Camden

Pope Francis named Williams as Coadjutor Bishop of Camden on May 21, 2024. His Mass of Welcome is scheduled for late summer 2024.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden Official SiteRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Joseph A. 1974 births Living people American Roman Catholic priests Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Clergy from Minneapolis University of Minnesota alumni Franciscan University of Steubenville alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni