Jospehite Superior General to con-celebrate Holy Cross Centennial Mass

Father William Norvel

Holy Cross Parish in Corpus Christi has received confirmation that Father William Norvel, Superior General of the Josephite Priest and Brothers, has accepted an invitation to con-celebrate their Centennial Jubilee Mass on Sept. 14.

“The parish was originally under Josephite administration and I am looking forward coming down to worship with them on the occasion of their centennial,” Father Norvel said.

In 2011, 140 years after their founding in 1871 to serve the African-American community, the Josephite Fathers and Brothers elected their first black superior general in Father Norvel. He is serving a four-year term at the order's Baltimore headquarters.

A Josephite, Father S. J. Kelly, SSJ, came to Corpus Christ and began making contact in the black community in 1914, which led to the founding of Holy Cross.

Father Norvel served as Consultor General for the Josephites 1983-87, and as president of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, 1985-87. He is credited with starting the gospel choir movement in Washington and Los Angeles. He also opened a Josephite house of spiritual formation in Nigeria, where he served for five years. The house has been the source of a number of Josephite vocations.

"Having more black leadership in the church is fulfilling the dreams of many," Father Norvel at the time of his selection as superior general. "My election shows that the Josephites feel that it's time that we have black leadership and they will support it."

A native of Pascagoula, Miss., Father Norvel was pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Pascagoula when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. "My church and my school were completely destroyed. My rectory and the convent were flooded with 4 feet of water," he said a few weeks after Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast.

For Father Norvel, one of the more uplifting moments in the aftermath of the hurricane came when he greeted volunteers from the North whom he likened to angels of mercy.

“We are so excited to have Rev. Norvel participate in our Centennial Celebration and to have him visit Corpus Christi. This news will add prestige to our event and hopefully will help us with the promotion of our Centennial Jubilee and the contributions to our Centennial fundraisers that are currently underway,” said Terri Longoria, a member of the Centennial Committee at Holy Cross.