Deacon Charles Williams had a vision. His vision was that the Catholic Diocese of Richmond would remember and honor the many Black Catholics who had, while struggling with their place in the Church, remained faithful. Prior to his death in 2022, Deacon Charles’ vision became clearer. He concluded that a museum dedicated to the Black Catholic experience in the Diocese of Richmond should become a reality. He envisioned the museum being located on the grounds of Holy Rosary Catholic Church – Richmond’s oldest existing African American Roman Catholic Church.
Deacon Charles also envisioned a name for the endeavor
The Saint John Neumann Foundation.
Saint John Neumann was the first Redemptorist priest ordained in the United States and the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia. The Redemptorist Order has long ministered to the needs of the African American community, in the Diocese of Richmond and elsewhere. Saint John Neumann established the first diocesan educational system and was instrumental in saving the Oblate Sisters of Providence, an African American order, from dissolution.
Deacon Charles passed in January 2022, but his vision has begun to bear fruit. Bishop Knestout, after meeting with Msgr. Tochi Iwuju, Deacon Frank Nelson, Deacon Ron Reger, and Deacon John Tucker, has heartily given his permission to proceed. On July 17, 2024, the paperwork was signed and completed, and The Saint John Neumann Foundation is now in existence.