By Carole Norris Greene | Special to the Catholic Review When Sister Marcia Hall was elected…
March 13, 2026 | Catholic Review
Father Norvel, first Black superior general for U.S. men’s religious community, dies at 90
By | Catholic Review
Josephite Father William Norvel, a forceful voice for Black Catholic identity who spent more than six decades challenging the institutional church to live up to its claim of being universal, died March 8. He was 90.
A pioneer in bringing Gospel music into Catholic liturgy following the Second Vatican Council, Father Norvel helped shape the spiritual life of Black Catholic communities nationwide. He contributed to the groundbreaking Black Catholic hymnal “Lead Me, Guide Me” and founded the first Gospel choirs at Catholic churches in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.