Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Encyclopedia
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is a personal ordinariate
of the Roman Catholic Church
within the territory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
, but immediately subject to the Holy See
in Rome and encompassing Scotland. It was established on 15 January 2011 for groups of former Anglicans in England and Wales in accordance with the apostolic constitution
Anglicanorum coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI
.
The personal ordinariate is set up in such a way that "corporate reunion" of former Anglicans with the Catholic Church is possible while also preserving elements of a "distinctive Anglican patrimony". The ordinariate was placed under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham
and under the patronage of the Blessed John Henry Newman, a former Anglican himself.
, was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood and appointed the first ordinary
on 15 January 2011. As he is married, he is not permitted to receive episcopal ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. On 17 March 2011, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the rank of protonotary apostolic
(the highest rank of monsignor
).
reserving use of "pontifical insigna" to "those ecclesiastical persons who have episcopal rank or some particular jurisdiction" the ordinary is allowed to wear an ecclesiastical ring
, mitre
and pectoral cross and also to carry a crozier, all the traditional insignia of a bishop or abbot, by virtue of his office.
, and John Broadhurst
, the former Anglican Bishop of Fulham
, were also ordained as Catholic priests for the ordinariate on 15 January 2011.
Two retired former Anglican bishops have also received ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. Edwin Barnes
, another former Anglican Bishop of Richborough
, was ordained to the diaconate on 11 February 2011 and the priesthood on 5 March 2011. David Silk
, a former Anglican Bishop of Ballarat
in Australia and then, at the time of his resignation, an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter, was ordained to the diaconate on 15 February 2011 and the priesthood on 18 February 2011.
It has been suggested that the disused Church of St Anne
in Laxton Place should be donated to the ordinariate as its principal church. St Anne’s is currently owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster
. St Anne's, described as a "cross between a public lavatory and a Christian Science Reading Room" by Damian Thompson, the religious affairs commentator of the Daily Telegraph, is considered by him to be one of the ugliest churches in London. He has suggested that St Etheldreda's Church
in Ely Place
, the only medieval Roman Catholic church in London, should be donated by its owners, the Rosminian order
, to the ordinariate as its headquarters.
at a press conference in Rome and by the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Rowan Williams
, and the Archbishop of Westminster
, Vincent Nichols at a simultaneous press conference in London. The provision exists for any number of such national Anglican ordinariates, though at present there are no other examples.
In October 2010, the Parochial Church Council
of St Peter's Church in Folkestone became the first Church of England parochial group to formally begin the process of joining the Roman Catholic Church. A group of the parish's members, including their priest, have since been received into the ordinariate. Other members of the parish have remained in the Church of England, electing a new PCC, and are currently awaiting a new parish priest under the leadership of the Area Dean of Elham.
On 8 November 2010, three serving and two retired bishops of the Church of England
announced their intention to join the Roman Catholic Church. The serving bishops were Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet, Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough, and Bishop John Broadhurst
of Fulham. The retired bishops were Bishop Edwin Barnes
, formerly of Richborough, and Bishop David Silk
, formerly of Ballarat in Australia. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, announced that he had with regret accepted the resignations of Bishops Burnham and Newton. In the following week, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
considered the proposed ordinariate and gave assurances of a warm welcome for those who wish to be part of it. In a pastoral letter concerning his resignation as Bishop of Richborough, Bishop Newton stressed that he had done so not for "negative reasons about problems in the Church of England but for positive reasons in response to our Lord's prayer the night before he died, [that] 'they may all be one'."
The "ordinariate groups", numbering approximately 900 members, entered the ordinariate at Easter 2011, thereby becoming Roman Catholics. Initially 61 Anglican priests were expected to be received although some subsequently withdrew (returning to the Church of England) and one, John Hunwicke, despite joining the ordinariate, has had his reordination "deferred" owing to unspecified comments allegedly made by him on his internet blog site. This has left a total of 55 former Anglican deacons and priests (in addition to the five former bishops) listed on the ordinariate's official website as candidates for reordination within the ordinariate.
The Bishop of Lincoln, John Saxbee
, said that "I can't judge the motives behind it [the offer], but the way it was done doesn't sit easily with all of the talk about working towards better relations" and that "Fence mending will need to be done to set conversations back on track."
Roman Catholic clergy who were present at an ecumenical service at Westminster Cathedral for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were reported as being "dismayed" by the sermon by Canon Giles Fraser, Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, which included comments that the ordinariate had a "slightly predatory feel" and that "In corporate terms, [it is] a little like a takeover bid in some broader power play of church politics."
Bishop Christopher Hill, the chairman of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, later described the erection of the ordinariate as an "insensitive act".
Archbishop John Hepworth
, Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion
, a Continuing Anglican group not in the Anglican Communion
, said that Pope Benedict XVI "has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago."
Personal Ordinariate
A personal ordinariate is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church enabling former Anglicans to maintain some degree of corporate identity and autonomy with regard to the bishops of the geographical dioceses of the Catholic Church and to preserve elements of their distinctive Anglican...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
within the territory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.-About:...
, but immediately subject to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in Rome and encompassing Scotland. It was established on 15 January 2011 for groups of former Anglicans in England and Wales in accordance with the apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
Anglicanorum coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
.
The personal ordinariate is set up in such a way that "corporate reunion" of former Anglicans with the Catholic Church is possible while also preserving elements of a "distinctive Anglican patrimony". The ordinariate was placed under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The title derives from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout Saxon noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England...
and under the patronage of the Blessed John Henry Newman, a former Anglican himself.
Ordinary
Father Keith Newton, the former Anglican Bishop of RichboroughBishop of Richborough
__noTOC__The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England....
, was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood and appointed the first ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
on 15 January 2011. As he is married, he is not permitted to receive episcopal ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. On 17 March 2011, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the rank of protonotary apostolic
Protonotary apostolic
In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...
(the highest rank of monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
).
Insignia
In consideration of No. 130 of the Constitution on the Sacred LiturgySacrosanctum Concilium
Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963...
reserving use of "pontifical insigna" to "those ecclesiastical persons who have episcopal rank or some particular jurisdiction" the ordinary is allowed to wear an ecclesiastical ring
Ecclesiastical ring
An ecclesiastical ring is a finger ring worn by a clergyman, such as a Bishop's ring.-Historical antecedents:St. Clement of Alexandria says that a man might lawfully wear a ring on his little finger, and that it should bear some religious emblem—a dove for the Holy Spirit, a fish for Christ or an...
, mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
and pectoral cross and also to carry a crozier, all the traditional insignia of a bishop or abbot, by virtue of his office.
Others
Andrew Burnham, the former Anglican Bishop of EbbsfleetBishop of Ebbsfleet
The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England....
, and John Broadhurst
John Broadhurst
John Charles Broadhurst is an English priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Broadhurst was formerly a bishop of the Church of England and served as the Bishop of Fulham in the Diocese of London from 1996 to 2010...
, the former Anglican Bishop of Fulham
Bishop of Fulham
The Bishop of Fulham is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London in the Church of England. The bishopric is named after Fulham, an area of south-west London....
, were also ordained as Catholic priests for the ordinariate on 15 January 2011.
Two retired former Anglican bishops have also received ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. Edwin Barnes
Edwin Barnes
Edwin Ronald Barnes is a Catholic priest and a former Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Richborough from 1995 to 2002 and was also formerly the president of the Church Union.-Anglican ministry:...
, another former Anglican Bishop of Richborough
Bishop of Richborough
__noTOC__The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England....
, was ordained to the diaconate on 11 February 2011 and the priesthood on 5 March 2011. David Silk
David Silk (bishop)
Robert David Silk is an English priest of the Roman Catholic Church. He was formerly an Anglican bishop and was the Bishop of Ballarat in the Anglican Church of Australia....
, a former Anglican Bishop of Ballarat
Anglican Diocese of Ballarat
The Anglican Diocese of Ballarat extends across the south-west region of Victoria, Australia. It is one of the five Anglican Church of Australia dioceses in the Ecclesiastical province of Victoria. The bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Ballarat.-List of...
in Australia and then, at the time of his resignation, an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Exeter, was ordained to the diaconate on 15 February 2011 and the priesthood on 18 February 2011.
Church buildings
The ordinariate does not currently have its own churches and there has been speculation that it will seek to rent some churches from the Church of England, or borrow some Roman Catholic churches. However, senior Church of England authorities have generally maintained that members of the ordinariate should worship in Roman Catholic churches.It has been suggested that the disused Church of St Anne
St Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Laxton Place
St Anne's is a Roman Catholic church in Laxton Place near Regent's Park in London. The church was constructed in 1970 but fell into disuse at the turn of the 21st century.-History:...
in Laxton Place should be donated to the ordinariate as its principal church. St Anne’s is currently owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in England. The archdiocese consists of all the London boroughs north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, together with the towns southwest of Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames and...
. St Anne's, described as a "cross between a public lavatory and a Christian Science Reading Room" by Damian Thompson, the religious affairs commentator of the Daily Telegraph, is considered by him to be one of the ugliest churches in London. He has suggested that St Etheldreda's Church
St Etheldreda's Church
St Etheldreda's Church is located in Ely Place, off Charterhouse Street, Holborn, London. It is dedicated to Æthelthryth, or Etheldreda, an Anglo-Saxon saint who founded the monastery at Ely in 673. The building was the chapel of the London residence of the Bishops of Ely.The chapel was purchased ...
in Ely Place
Ely Place
Ely Place is a gated road at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden in London, England. It is the location of the Old Mitre Tavern and is adjacent to Hatton Garden.-Origins:...
, the only medieval Roman Catholic church in London, should be donated by its owners, the Rosminian order
Rosminians
The Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata, are a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded by Antonio Rosmini and first organised in 1828....
, to the ordinariate as its headquarters.
Background
The apostolic constitution that allows for the institution of personal ordinariates for Anglicans who join the Catholic Church was released on 9 November 2009, after being announced on 20 October 2009 by Cardinal William LevadaWilliam Levada
William Joseph Levada is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2005, he has served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, making him the highest ranking American in the Roman Curia. He was previously the Archbishop of Portland from 1986 to 1995 and...
at a press conference in Rome and by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, and the Archbishop of Westminster
Archbishop of Westminster
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...
, Vincent Nichols at a simultaneous press conference in London. The provision exists for any number of such national Anglican ordinariates, though at present there are no other examples.
In October 2010, the Parochial Church Council
Parochial Church Council
The parochial church council , is the executive body of a Church of England parish.-Powers and duties:Two Acts of Parliament define the powers and duties of PCCs...
of St Peter's Church in Folkestone became the first Church of England parochial group to formally begin the process of joining the Roman Catholic Church. A group of the parish's members, including their priest, have since been received into the ordinariate. Other members of the parish have remained in the Church of England, electing a new PCC, and are currently awaiting a new parish priest under the leadership of the Area Dean of Elham.
On 8 November 2010, three serving and two retired bishops of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
announced their intention to join the Roman Catholic Church. The serving bishops were Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet, Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough, and Bishop John Broadhurst
John Broadhurst
John Charles Broadhurst is an English priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Broadhurst was formerly a bishop of the Church of England and served as the Bishop of Fulham in the Diocese of London from 1996 to 2010...
of Fulham. The retired bishops were Bishop Edwin Barnes
Edwin Barnes
Edwin Ronald Barnes is a Catholic priest and a former Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Richborough from 1995 to 2002 and was also formerly the president of the Church Union.-Anglican ministry:...
, formerly of Richborough, and Bishop David Silk
David Silk (bishop)
Robert David Silk is an English priest of the Roman Catholic Church. He was formerly an Anglican bishop and was the Bishop of Ballarat in the Anglican Church of Australia....
, formerly of Ballarat in Australia. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, announced that he had with regret accepted the resignations of Bishops Burnham and Newton. In the following week, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.-About:...
considered the proposed ordinariate and gave assurances of a warm welcome for those who wish to be part of it. In a pastoral letter concerning his resignation as Bishop of Richborough, Bishop Newton stressed that he had done so not for "negative reasons about problems in the Church of England but for positive reasons in response to our Lord's prayer the night before he died, [that] 'they may all be one'."
The "ordinariate groups", numbering approximately 900 members, entered the ordinariate at Easter 2011, thereby becoming Roman Catholics. Initially 61 Anglican priests were expected to be received although some subsequently withdrew (returning to the Church of England) and one, John Hunwicke, despite joining the ordinariate, has had his reordination "deferred" owing to unspecified comments allegedly made by him on his internet blog site. This has left a total of 55 former Anglican deacons and priests (in addition to the five former bishops) listed on the ordinariate's official website as candidates for reordination within the ordinariate.
Anglican responses
Some senior Church of England leaders have been reported as considering the establishment of the ordinariate to be damaging to relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches.The Bishop of Lincoln, John Saxbee
John Saxbee
John Charles Saxbee was the 71st Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England between 23 March 2002 and 31 January 2011. He was introduced to the House of Lords as a new Lord Spiritual on 1 July 2008 together with former Director-General of MI5, Baroness Manningham-Buller.-Education and...
, said that "I can't judge the motives behind it [the offer], but the way it was done doesn't sit easily with all of the talk about working towards better relations" and that "Fence mending will need to be done to set conversations back on track."
Roman Catholic clergy who were present at an ecumenical service at Westminster Cathedral for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were reported as being "dismayed" by the sermon by Canon Giles Fraser, Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, which included comments that the ordinariate had a "slightly predatory feel" and that "In corporate terms, [it is] a little like a takeover bid in some broader power play of church politics."
Bishop Christopher Hill, the chairman of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, later described the erection of the ordinariate as an "insensitive act".
Archbishop John Hepworth
John Hepworth
John Anthony Hepworth is an Australian bishop. He is currently the primate and archbishop of the Traditional Anglican Communion, an international body of continuing Anglican churches. He is also the ordinary of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia.Hepworth began his seminary studies in 1960...
, Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion
Traditional Anglican Communion
The Traditional Anglican Communion is an international communion of churches in the continuing Anglican movement independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis and an Anglo-Catholic interpretation of...
, a Continuing Anglican group not in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, said that Pope Benedict XVI "has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago."