Getting to Know Our Clergy Father Williams Abba

By Alice Huth-Derrah

Anyone who has recently attended services at St. Elizabeth Seton knows how Father Williams Abba begins the Mass. Father jubilantly greets the congregation proclaiming, “God is good!” Parishioners respond, “All the time!” It is a joyous affirmation of God’s presence and Grace in our lives. It also seems to perfectly reflect Father Williams’ personality, that of an impassioned orator with an ardent need to spread the Good News and remind us of one of the major tenets of Christianity: All people have the right to be treated justly.

Having only recently made his way to the United States, Father Williams arrived in July 2021 and was assigned as Parochial Vicar at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Scottsdale prior to coming to St. Elizabeth Seton. He was born in 1969 far from Arizona in the farming community of Godogodo, which is part of the southern Kaduna state in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. It’s an area Father describes as “lush, green and beautiful.” On land which was inherited and handed down through generations, he and his five siblings helped their parents work the 10-15-acre family farm on which they grew maize, yams, and other crops. His father, a cradle Catholic, and his mother, a convert to Catholicism, were “loving parents…and very involved in the church.” As a close-knit family, Father says his two older sisters were “kind…and very mothering” toward him and the other younger children, and he himself often helped the little ones with reading and writing. While in primary and secondary school, his favorite subjects were Social Studies, Physical Education, English, and Religious Education, which he particularly enjoyed, especially the story of creation which “ignited a spark in me to learn more about God.” His parents never attended school and Father is the only one in his family to attain an education and receive a degree.

The desire to become a priest was “always there”, Father Williams explains, and his parents offered unwavering support even though traditionally an eldest son was expected to marry and raise his own family. Father credits his mother and father with playing a “key role” in his decision, along with that of three priests: Fathers McGrath, O’Kane, and Joseph, and Father Joseph would be the one to recommend Father Williams to the seminary. On December 9, 1995, Father was ordained by the late Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka, who Father thought of as a “very holy man” because of his demeanor and by the way he spoke to others. When asked what he enjoys most about being a priest, Father says without hesitation “celebrating the Mass”, and what may be a bit surprising, “celebrating a funeral Mass.” Father describes it this way: “The healing after loss begins from the Mass…during moments of grief it helps the mourners through it.”

Father Williams enjoys spicy foods, “the hotter the better,” and 90% of the meals he cooks for himself are Nigerian dishes such as Jollof rice, a combination of rice, vegetables, and protein. In fact, he sometimes carries spices with him to add to dishes when he is away from home. He is also an activist and a published author. His book, “From the Pulpit to the Public: Quenching the Flames of Division,” is made up of a collection of Father Williams’ speeches and homilies. Each section is meant to shed light on social and “structural” injustices being experienced by the people in his homeland, and generally highlight the inequities so many others around the world know far too well. Father Williams’ tireless advocacy is the hallmark of a true and steadfast belief in one of God’s greatest commandments, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:28-31)

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