Congregation of Holy Cross Father William Lies, vice president for mission engagement and church affairs at the University of Notre Dame, was elected June 14 the provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, by the Provincial Chapter at its meeting in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
“I am both humbled and honored by the confidence my Holy Cross brothers have placed in me,” said Father Lies, a native of Little Falls who has a twin brother, Jim, also a Holy Cross priest. “I accept this role in service to the Congregation and the church, confident the Lord will guide our efforts.”
As provincial superior, Father Lies will oversee more than 500 priests, brothers and seminarians in the U.S. province, which has apostolates and missions in East Africa, Chile, Peru and Mexico. He succeeds Father Thomas O’Hara.
Father Lies earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville. He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross on Aug. 15, 1988, professed first vows Aug. 12, 1989, received his master of divinity degree from Notre Dame and took final vows Aug. 28, 1993. He was ordained to the priesthood April 9, 1994.
Father Lies earned a doctorate in Latin American politics from the University of Pittsburgh. His research and teaching has focused on human rights, religion and politics in Latin America, and the politics of poverty.
In 2013, Father Lies received Catholic Charities U.S.A.’s “Keep the Dream Alive” award that honors Martin Luther King Jr.