By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--A new priest whose Catholic roots are solidly Georgian was ordained for the Archdiocese of Atlanta March 4 in the supportive presence of a cathedral full of friends.

A graduate of Marist School and Georgia Tech, whose family ties extend back to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Carrollton, Father Paul D. Williams, Jr. was ordained by Archbishop John F. Donoghue in a 9 a.m. Mass and rite of ordination.

In addition to school friends, Father Williams’ ordination drew many from St. Andrew’s Parish in Roswell, where his family are active members. “The whole parish has basically adopted Paul as their own son, and the love of the family has just spread,” said parishioner Ginny Boll, while waiting for the Mass to begin.

Dr. Donald Williams, Sr., a retired dentist, and his wife, Linda, have been active at St. Andrew’s where he has headed the parish council, and she is past president of the Legion of Mary. In late December Dr. Williams was diagnosed with cancer and his son’s ordination was advanced from June to March by the archdiocese as a result.

Yet joy dominated the celebration. “It’s a wonderful day, that’s really all you can say,” Dr. Williams said as the family was embraced by friends outside the cathedral.

Twenty-nine, Father Williams graduated from Marist in 1984 and from Tech in 1988 with a degree in computer science and a plan to work for the defense industry. Following graduation he worked for General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Tex. as a software engineering specialist for advanced flight control systems.

But something else was at work. Just before graduating from Tech Williams made a trip with his family to the Yugoslavian village of Medjugorje where reported Marian apparitions were occurring. In the course of the pilgrimage their lives were changed, Father Williams said. “My family had a conversion experience. All of us came back to the faith...and that conversion was the bedrock of my vocation.”

“God gave me the gift of faith in order to see how he works in people’s hearts,” he continued. “...I just grew more and more in my faith until I began to feel a desire for the priesthood. When it began I fought it...I wanted to continue my career as a computer scientist, I wanted to get married and have children...But the call to priesthood was really overwhelming. I accepted it and in 1991 I entered the seminary for (the archdiocese of) Atlanta and I have never been happier.”

The rite of ordination includes the presentation of the candidate by Msgr. Donald Kenny, vocations director, to the archbishop, his acceptance by the archbishop and the consent of the people, expressed by applause. Later the candidate promises his obedience to the archbishop and his successors and prostates himself while the community invokes the prayers of the saints. Finally Archbishop Donoghue lays his hands on the head of the candidate and all other priest present do the same.

Following a prayer of consecration, the new priest is vested in stole and chasuble. Father Williams chose his father and Msgr. Michael Regan, pastor of the Carrollton parish where his father grew up, to help him vest.

In his homily Archbishop Donoghue said that the priesthood was instituted by Christ “for our comfort and our need” and that the priest preaches Jesus Christ, setting aside his own self-interest in favor of the Gospel of Christ. Quoting the prophet Jeremiah, the archbishop said youth is no barrier to proclaiming Christ.

“For those whom God calls there is no excuse, there is no turning back,” he said.

The archbishop also said that the priest is the servant following the example of Christ. “It is not the power to rule that I pass on...Rather it is a power which rises from humility,” Archbishop Donoghue said. “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest.”

Father Williams will receive his master’s in theology from Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md., this May and will receive his first assignment as a parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish, Conyers, in June.

Although he has left his professional career as a computer specialist, he continues to use his experience with an emphasis now on ministering to others and answering the questions of Catholics and non-Catholics on-line.

“For the last couple of years I have been cruising the information superhighway on-line, on computer networks,” he said. “Through e-mail I have struck up friendships with Catholics and non-Catholics. About 15 of them got together and had some vestments made for me. There were so beautiful I wore them at my first Mass. We will be sending a video of my first Mass around to them.”

His e-mail friends live in several different states and most have never met face to face, Father Williams said. Frequently prayer requests are now posted on electronic bulletin boards. A child in Kansas with leukemia, whose prayer need was posted, prompted him and a friend from one network to meet, pray a rosary for the child’s intention in Baltimore, and then post word of their prayer to the Midwest family. “This is one way the Internet can be used,” Father Williams said.

Ordained to the transitional diaconate last May at the Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, Father Williams has served as a seminarian in Carrollton and also at Holy Family Parish, Marietta, and Holy Spirit Parish, Atlanta. The family also has strong ties to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, which was represented at the ordination by Dom Bernard Johnson, OCSO, and several community members.

Father Williams expressed deep appreciation at the decision of the archbishop to advance the date of the ordination. “It is tremendous that the Archdiocese of Atlanta would accommodate this so my father could be at my ordination and my first Mass,” he said.

Members of St. Andrew’s Parish are interceding daily for Dr. Williams, as are many other friends. “It is a scary time, but it is a very joyful, humbling time” for the family, Father Williams said. “People really do rally around and pray. We feel very blessed...We are fighting (the illness)with a positive attitude, good nutrition and a lot of prayer. We’re taking it day by day. Whatever happens, God will be glorified.”