Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger
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Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger (born 1956 in Linz, Austria) is a teacher and former Benedictine nun who was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church when she and six others were supposedly ordained as priests and refused to recant. She now styles herself a bishop, though the identity of the bishop who ordained her, if he even exists, remains a secret. Her motivation is to promote the ordination of women.
She grew up in Linz with religious parents and attended a Roman Catholic school run by the Holy Cross Sisters. Though she and her parents did not always see eye-to-eye, she was very active in her local parish. When she was 14, she was allowed to serve unofficially (against church teaching at the time, though now permitted) in her local parish as an altar server, though she was not allowed to wear the cotta.
After leaving school, she left to join the convent of the Benedictines of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Steinerkirchen and was given the religious name of "Marie Christin". Though she wanted to study theology, after her initial two years in the convent she was instead sent back to Linz to study to become a religion teacher. During her final year of study, she was working at a school for special needs children where she met a divorcee whom she fell in love with. After completing her studies, she left religious life without dispensation and married him in a non-Catholic ceremony. As such, her marriage is not recognized by the Catholic Church. Because she had abandoned the convent and attempted marriage a divorced man, she was unable to find subsequent work with the Church.
In her professional life, she eventually got a job training kindergarten teachers and then as a teacher in a special needs school. Though she was in some ways outcast, she continued to be active in her local parish and with volunteer work. It was at this time that she began to perform liturgies and to volunteer as a "priest" at the local hospital and for those that wanted her services. Gradually, she became bolder and, although she was not ordained to any order, she began to celebrate "mass" with friends and perform other priestly functions.
In June 29, 2002, Christine and six others were ordained as priests by Romulo Antonio Braschi, a former Roman Catholic bishop from Argentina who left the church to join the Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of “Jesus the King”. In the media, they were called the Danube Seven because they were ordained on the Danube River near the town of Passau on the border between Germany and Austria. On December 21, 2002, after refusing to acknowledge the Vatican decree declaring these ordinations void, Christine and the others incurred excommunication. It is of note that she had already been acting as a priest before this "ordination."
In 2003, Christine took the next step, despite her excommunication, and was ordained as a bishop at a secret ceremony. It has not yet been revealed what bishop ordained her or if there are any witnesses.
After being made a bishop, Christine subsequently ordained several other women priests over the years, usually in secret. These ordinations are not recognized by the Catholic church.
