- Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia President Cllr. Philomena T. Williams has been elected supreme trustee of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John International, elevating the veteran lawyer and Catholic leader to one of the organization's highest-ranking international positions.
Williams was elected during the Order's 62nd International Convention, held Aug. 2-9 in Newark, New Jersey, where delegates from the United States, Africa, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean voted overwhelmingly to elevate her.
Her election marks a significant achievement for the Liberian jurisdiction of the international Catholic fraternal organization and comes after more than three decades of service to the Order.
As supreme trustee, Williams will share responsibility for safeguarding and managing the Order's assets, a position requiring institutional knowledge, integrity and adherence to its constitution. Delegates cited those qualities as hallmarks of her years of service.
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Williams, known within the Order as Noble Sister Williams, began her journey with the Knights of St. John International in 1994 when she was initiated into St. Philomena Ladies' Auxiliary #306.
Over the past 30 years, she has risen through the organization's leadership ranks, serving as supreme subordinate president since 2025, supreme subordinate first vice president from 2023 to 2025 and supreme subordinate treasurer from 2019 to 2023.
She previously served as grand president of the Monrovia Grand Ladies' Auxiliary from 2011 to 2017.
Williams has also held several district and local leadership positions, including supreme deputy organizer, grand vice president and president of her home auxiliary.
Beyond her administrative responsibilities, she has been recognized as Mother of the Year for what the organization described as her embodiment of Catholic motherhood and has led Catholic women's programs focused on spiritual retreats, catechetical formation and charitable outreach.
Her mentorship of younger members has also become a defining feature of her service, with several women she mentored subsequently assuming leadership roles within the organization.
Williams' leadership has extended beyond Liberia.
As special envoy of the supreme president to Sierra Leone, she successfully established the Supreme Subordinate Auxiliary in Freetown, expanding the Order's presence and strengthening fraternal ties across West Africa.
Delegates at the Newark convention described her elevation as "well-earned" and "a blessing to the international body," pointing to her leadership, discipline, transparency and commitment to unity among the Order's three Grand Auxiliaries.
The Ladies' Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John International traces its establishment to 1900 and formal organization to 1938. It maintains a presence across the United States, South America, Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Williams' election further strengthens Liberia's representation within the organization's international leadership and underscores the country's growing role in its global mission of charity, unity and service.
Outside the Knights of St. John International, Williams is a prominent Liberian lawyer and human rights advocate who currently serves as president of the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia.
She was re-elected in April 2025 to serve a second consecutive term as AFELL president.
Throughout her legal career, Williams has advocated for the rule of law, protection of vulnerable groups and survivor-centered justice, particularly for women and children.
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AFELL was established Feb. 10, 1994, during the First Liberian Civil War amid widespread abuses against women and children.
The organization comprises female legal practitioners, including lawyers, judges and magistrates, and provides pro bono legal representation, advice and dispute-resolution services to marginalized and indigent people.
Under Williams' leadership, AFELL has continued its work in legal representation, gender-based violence case monitoring, policy advocacy and national impact litigation.
Her leadership has also supported the organization's broader advocacy for structural legal reforms affecting Liberian women, including domestic violence protections and women's inheritance rights.
Williams' election as supreme trustee now adds another international leadership responsibility to a career spanning law, human rights advocacy, Catholic service and women's empowerment.
