William Norvel
Bill Norvel | |
|---|---|
| Superior general | |
| Installed | 2011 |
| Term ended | 2014 |
| Predecessor | Fr Edward J. Chiffriller, SSJ |
| Successor | Fr Michael Thompson, SSJ |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1965 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1935 or 1936 Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | (aged 90) |
| Parents | Velma and William Norvel Sr. |
| Occupation | Administrator, pastor, liturgist, author |
| Education | St. Joseph's Seminary (Washington, DC) Epiphany Apostolic College |
William Leonard Norvel, SSJ (1935 or 1936 – March 8, 2026) was an American Catholic priest who served as the 13th and first Black superior general of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephites. The society was founded to serve African Americans in 1893. Norvel, ordained to the priesthood in 1965, became superior in 2011; the first Black man to head a Catholic religious community in the United States.
Norvel is also known for his work during the Black Catholic Movement, in which he helped spread the use of Black Gospel music and other elements of Black spirituality in African-American Catholic parishes throughout the country. He is said to have established the first Catholic gospel choirs in history.