Rev. Clarence Williams, Jr., C.PP.S.
We have received notification that Reverend Clarence E. Williams, Jr., C.PP.S., entered eternal life on July 8, 2023, at the age of 73. We have been sent the following information from the Missionaries of the Precious Blood:
Father Williams was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on May 10, 1950. He was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and entered the Congregation in 1965. He was ordained in Cleveland on October 28, 1978.
After his ordination, Father Williams entered parish ministry at St. Anthony Church, first as an assistant then as pastor. In 1995, he was assigned to the Archbishop Lyke International Center in Detroit. In 2007, Father Williams was named the director of racial equality and diversity for Catholic Charities USA, based in Washington, DC. He ministered in the Archdiocese of Detroit as Director of Black Catholic Ministry; Administrator and Pastor of Holy Innocents – St. Barnabas Parish, Roseville. He then pastored St. James the Less Church in Columbus, Ohio.
Father Williams is survived by his father, Clarence E. Williams, Sr., of Cleveland; four younger brothers, Thomas D., Charles (Donna), Willie E. (Mercedes), and Carl (Cheryl), all of Cleveland; and numerous nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lula Belle.
Viewing at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, will be held on Sunday, June 16, at 2 p.m., with a Prayer Service at 5 p.m.
Viewing will be held on Monday, July 17, at St. Charles Center, until the time of his funeral at 2 p.m., in the Assumption Chapel.
Viewing will be held on Tuesday, July 18, from 11 a.m. until the time of Mass of Christian Burial at 1 p.m. at St. Adalbert Church, 2347 E. 83rd Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44104. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Monday, July 24 at 7 p.m. at St. James the Less Church, 1652 Oakland Park Avenue,, Columbus, Ohio.
Condolence may be sent to Missionaries of the Precious Blood, 845 E. Drexel Square, Chicago, IL 60615.
