50 Years a Priest

Father Michael Williams, SJ, entered the Society of Jesus in 1962. The Philadelphia native has served for many years at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He is a member of the Jesuits East Province.

After obtaining his bachelor’s in English from Fordham University in 1968, Fr. Williams served his regency while completing advanced degrees in English literature at the University of Southern California, where he earned his doctorate in 1975. That same year, he completed his theology studies at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and was ordained a priest. He professed final vows in the Society in 1986.

From 1976 to 1986, Fr. Williams served at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he was a professor, associate dean and assistant dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. In 1986, he moved to Spring Hill College, where he served as a professor of English and English department chair until 1995. During his time at Spring Hill, he also assisted with the school’s academic program in Venice.

Since 2018, Fr. Williams has been professor emeritus of English at Spring Hill College. He continues to serve as faculty adviser to Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society, and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Of his work with students, Fr. Williams says, “I have gotten to know students in ways I never dreamed of. I am blessed indeed!”