| Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter Ordinariatus Personalis Cathedrae Sancti Petri |
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The coat of arms of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite (Anglican Use) |
| Established | January 1, 2012 |
| Patroness | Our Lady of Walsingham |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Benedict XVI |
| Ordinary | Jeffrey Neil Steenson |
| Website | |
| www.usordinariate.org | |
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a personal ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church within the territory of the bishops' conference of the United States for those groups of Anglicans who desire full communion with the Catholic Church. As a personal ordinariate, it is immediately subject to the Holy See in Rome. It was established on January 1, 2012 in accordance with the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus of Pope Benedict XVI.[1]
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".[2] The ordinariate is said to have inquiries from over 100 Anglican priests and 1,400 people.[3]
Contents |
The second personal ordinariate to be established after the promulgation of Anglicanorum coetibus, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is, according to the decree of its erection, juridically equivalent to a diocese.[1] Instead of a bishop, the faithful of the ordinariate are led by an ordinary who is named directly by the pope.[1] The ordinary is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by right.[1]
The first ordinary of the ordinariate is Father Jeffrey N. Steenson, a Catholic priest who was formerly a bishop of the Episcopal Church until his reception into the Catholic Church in 2007.[4] The principal church is the Church of Our Lady of Walsingham, located in Houston, Texas.[1]