Sister Cora Marie Billings, RSM

2009 Honoree

Sister Cora Billings, the first African-American nun to lead a Roman Catholic parish in the United States, has never known a life filled with anything but giving. Growing up in Philadelphia, she was surrounded by people who selflessly gave of themselves.

"So part of my philosophy and being of service have always been a part of me," she says. "My background and heritage were to be of service."

For more than 20 years, Sister Billings’ serenity and kindness not only have touched many Roman Catholic parishioners in the Richmond area, but persons of other faiths, too. Today, 52 years after she became a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy, Sister Billings is deputy director of the Virginia Human Rights Council, an agency that helps safeguard against unlawful discrimination.

"Often, I don’t know the importance of what I do. I just do what I have to do," she says.

Sister Billings knew at a young age that she wanted to serve others. She recalls putting a towel on her head when she was about 5 years old; it was her veil. Rosaries around her neck and her mother’s high-heeled shoes completed her outfit.

By 1956, her vision to serve was realized immediately after she graduated from West Philadelphia Catholic Girls’ High School. She became the first African American to enter the Religious Sisters of Mercy, Mid-Atlantic Community, in 1956. Along with teaching and attending college, she took vows of poverty, celibacy, obedience and service to the poor and less fortunate. She graduated from Villanova University in 1964.

From 1959 until 1977, Sister Billings taught elementary and high school, becoming the first African-American nun to teach in Philadelphia’s Catholic high schools. In 1974, she was the first African-American nun to become a member of the Canon Law Society of America.

Sister Billings arrived in Virginia in 1981 to serve as campus minister at Virginia State University, and was part-time director of the Richmond Diocesan Office for Black Catholics before being named to the position full time in 1984, a position she held until 2007.

She has served on numerous boards and received several awards, including the Virginia State Conference NAACP’s Maggie L. Walker Award, The National Conference For Community and Justice (NCCJ) Humanitarian Award, and the Urban League of Greater Richmond’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her encouragement to young people echoes the musical, "The Wiz." "Believe in yourself as I believe in you."