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Ministers of the African Diaspora Serving the Archdiocese of Atlanta  

For a list of all the priests serving in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and their current assignments, please visit the Priests of the Archdiocese of Atlanta page.

The Priesthood

Rev. Edward B. Branch, D. Min. – Lyke House

Father Branch is presently the Campus Minister of the Lyke-House-Catholic Center at the Atlanta University Center (AUC), a cluster of historically African American institutions of higher learning. The AUC represents the largest concentration of scholars of African decent in the world. Fr. Branch was ordained to the Priesthood, for the Archdiocese of Louisville, in 1974. He has previously served as Campus Minister at Catholic University and Grambling State University (LA). He holds the Baccalaureate Degree in French Language and Literature, the Master’s and Doctorate Degrees of Divinity. He has studied at the American College/University of Louvain and is now in his fourteenth year as Campus Minister at the Lyke House. He is active in Atlanta Archdiocesan and national pastoral affairs and other ministries.

Rev. Giles Conwill – Morehouse College

Father Conwill was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest for the Diocese of San Diego in 1973. He is currently an Associate Professor of History (tenured in 1994), at Morehouse College. He holds a Ph.D. Degree from Emory University in African-American History and Cultural Anthropology. He has a Master’s of Divinity Degree from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Systematic and Pastoral Theology. He also holds the B. A. Degree in Philosophy, History, and Latin from the University of San Diego. Fr. Conwill’s teaching fields include the following: History of the United States, Western Civilization, the Black Church, Ancient Africa, and African-American Catholics and the World. Fr. Conwill is an active Retreat Master, and a frequent presenter at the National Black Catholic Movement activities. He is an active supply Minister and is well known and appreciated in many churches throughout the Atlanta Archdiocese.

Rev. Guyma Noel – Christ Our Hope

Father Noel is the Pastor at Christ Our Hope Catholic Church in Lithonia. He is a native of Haiti. He attended the Charlemagne Peralte Public Elementary School and the St. Martin de Porres Catholic High School (Hinche, Haiti). Fr. Noel earned the B. A. Degree from St. John’s University (Queens, NY); a Certificate in Theological Mission Studies from Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, IL); the M.Div. & M.A Degrees from St. Vincent Seminary (Latrobe, PA). He is currently studying International Affairs at Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA). His language skills include fluency in French, Haitian Creole, English and Spanish. He is active in the parish-twinning programs between the U.S. and Haiti and The Gambia.

Rev. Bruce Wilkinson – Most Blessed Sacrament

From his early childhood days, Father Wilkinson hoped to become either a civil engineer or an architect. He eventually actualized his dream when he commenced his studies at Morehouse College, where he pursued a dual degree curriculum in Mathematics and Engineering. While at Morehouse, Fr. Bruce accepted the invitation from a friend to attend Sunday Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the West End. This 1973 experience was truly an epiphanic one for him, which led him to the Catholic Faith. Soon afterwards, he began taking instructions to become a Catholic and eventually entered the Catholic Church at Easter in 1974. Following this, he remained an active member of St. Anthony’s for the remainder of his college matriculation. Fr. Bruce’s spiritual mentor and Pastor at St. Anthony’s was Monsignor Beltran, now Bishop Beltran of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

It was under the guidance of Monsignor Beltran that Fr. Bruce began to give serious discerning consideration to what he believed to be A Call to Priesthood. Prayerful discernment eventually led to seminary application, acceptance, seminary formation, and ordination to the priesthood on June 27, 1981. Fr. Bruce’s first assignment was as Parochial Vicar of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Decatur. In 1985 he was assigned as Pastor of his home parish, St. Anthony of Padua, where he remained until 1992. His next assignments were as Secretary of the Office for Black Catholic Ministry and Pastor of Most Blessed Sacrament in Southwest Atlanta. In 1994, Father Bruce tendered his resignation as Secretary of the Office for Black Catholic Ministry in order to meet the fulltime pastoral responsibilities at Most Blessed Sacrament.

Rev. Ricardo Bailey – Holy Spirit

Fr. Ricardo Bailey was born on December 19, 1973 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was baptized at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. He received his primary school education at Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Thomas Moore in Decatur Georgia. Upon completing his high school studies at Shamrock High School in DeKalb County, Fr. Bailey was accepted to study sociology at Xavier University of Louisiana. While at Xavier, he was also accepted into the St. Joseph Society of the Sacred Heart, Inc. (The Josephites), to begin his seminary formation for the priesthood. After three years of with the Josephites, Fr. Bailey transferred his seminary affiliation to the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He continued his matriculation at Xavier University in residency and formation at Notre Dame Graduate School of Theology in New Orleans. Fr. Bailey graduated from Xavier in May of 1997 with honors and with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. He then went on to St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore to continue the Program of Priestly Formation. On May 15, which he completed on May 15, 2003, with a Bachelor Degree in Sacred Theology and a Masters of Divinity Degree.

On December 22, 2001, Archbishop John F. Donoghue, D. D., Archbishop of Atlanta ordained Fr. Bailey a Deacon. On June 7, he was ordained a priest and he said his Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady of Lourdes on June 8, 2003, Pentecost Sunday. Fr. Bailey is presently in his second priestly assignment as Parochial Vicar of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Atlanta.

Rev. John Paul Ezeonyido – Holy Trinity

Father John-Paul Chukwuemeka Ezeonyido was born on November 30, 1970 to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Ezeonyido of Akukwa Village, Ngo, Igbo-Ukwu, Aguata L.G.A., in Anambra State, Nigeria. He is the fifth child of seven surviving children. He received the Sacrament of Baptism, with Fr. Ranasiudu officiating, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Igbo-Ukwu. At his Baptism, he was given the name John Paul . Other sacramental records include First Communion, 3 January 1982, and Confirmation, 27 May 1984, all at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Igbo-Ukwu. On June 7th 2003, Fr. John Paul was ordained a Catholic Priest at the Cathedral of Christ the King by His Excellency, Most Rev. John-Francis Donoghue, Archbishop of Atlanta. He celebrated his first Mass on June 8, 2003, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Peachtree City. He now serves as Parochial Vicar at Holy Trinity.

Biographical and pictorial information was not available for the following priests:

Rev. Michael Onyekuru – Metropolitan Tribunal

Rev. Maxis St. Fleur – On leave

Rev. John Ugochukuwu – Further Studies (in residence at Holy Cross, Atlanta)

Rev. Thony Jean – On leave

Rev. Casmir Maduakor – St. Michael the Archangel