The Reredos
Mother Mary Theodore Williams
Elizabeth Barbara Williams was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1868 from a devout Catholic family. Williams entered religious life through a contemplative community in 1870 when the community was supposedly closed due to racist sentiments that felt the community of Black nuns was a threat to white neighborhoods.
Williams entered the Oblate Sisters of Providence as Sister Mary Theodore in 1915 and left the community to discern her vocation outside of religious life. As a lay worker, Williams continued to discern her calling through spiritual direction.
One day, a missionary named Fr. Ignatius Lissner called Williams. Fr. Lissner was a founder of several Catholic schools run by religious women in Georgia. He asked Williams if she would work with him to found a religious community of Black Sisters with the goal of educating African-American children.
In September of 1916, Fr. Lissner worked with Williams to begin the new religious community: The Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. Their goal, one Catholic New York article says, was “to combat proposed legislation that threatened to segregate white religious leaders from educating and providing pastoral care to blacks in the state.” Williams was enthusiastic to be a sister for this congregation, so she took her vows and took the name of Mother Mary Theodore. Since then, she led the religious community in educating students in its school. In 1913, Archbishop Hayes of New York invited the sisters to run St. Benedict’s Nursery in Harlem to care for the increasing number of black children in the community.
In 1929, the community became known as The Franciscan Handmaids of Mary. The sisters cared for Harlem residents of all ages, even managing to make a soup kitchen during the Great Depression. Mother Theodore Williams worked until she died of Pneumonia on July 14th, 1931. The Franciscan Handmaids of Mary currently serve in Yonkers, Harlem, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Their ministry has included the running of a nursery, organizing religious education programs in parishes, and putting together a food pantry in Staten Island. The sisters are particularly appreciated at Saint Joseph of the Holy Family as they educate our youth in our religious education program. We are incredibly blessed to have the Sisters help Harlem and our parish community.