San Quentin now has a Catholic chaplain. Father George Williams, 53, began his duties on Jan. 12, replacing Father Barber, who retired.
Father Williams grew up in Connecticut, attended Syracuse, and then served five years as an Air Force officer. He was stationed in Alaska, Germany, and Saudi Arabia.
“The majority of my life has been working in Prison Ministry. I’m currently working on a Doctorate in Criminal Justice. I always had a strong interest in doing prison work. I was ordained in 2004 in the order of Jesuit Priest, and asked for ordination for Prison Ministry,” he said.
His last post was Massachusetts State Prison in Concord for five years, and before that 10 years in the Boston City Jail. When asked of comparing where he came from to here, he said, “Prison is prison; we have better weather here.” He also noted that there was not a Death Row there.
He explained how he came to know about the position because of visiting with Father Barber. “I came here to steal ideas, and exchange thoughts. The priests doing this work are few and far between.” He noted San Quentin holds half the number of all inmates in the Massachusetts system. “I personally knew many inmates there, so the size (of San Quentin) really struck me.”
Asked about his accomplishments in Boston, he said it was not about accomplishments, “It was how I was able to serve God. Some of them died there, but at some point along their journey, they came back to the Church. I feel that they found some peace, even though they didn’t measure up to society’s standard.”
Father Williams is also interested in work in recovery; he himself was working at halfway houses. “I’m not about shoving religion down their throat. It’s really not about programs, but about how do we learn to live our faith as Christians, no matter where we are.” He saw the value of the many other programs at San Quentin. In Massachusetts, the only programs were basic education and some religious programs.
“There are a lot of good things going on in here,” he said.
Since coming to one of the oldest prisons in the country, he said he is eager to break myths and stereotypes. “San Quentin is famous; you see the stuff on TV; the reality of the place is something completely different. You’re dealing here with human beings, and the media makes the characters out of it.”
He also sees his duties include reaching out to other faiths. “It’s easy to get caught up in your own denomination, but I don’t see that happening here,” he said, “Feel free in coming to the services in here.”
