Washington D.C., Jan 2, 2012 / 12:04 pm
Pope Benedict XVI has chosen a former Episcopal bishop to lead the new U.S. ordinariate for Anglican communities wishing to enter the Catholic Church.
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which was officially erected on Jan. 1, 2012, will be led by Fr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, who is a married, former Episcopal bishop of the Rio Grande.
Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, who had served as the Vatican’s delegate for the establishment of an ordinariate in the United States, said that he welcomed Fr. Steenson’s appointment “with great joy.”
The cardinal said that the creation of the ordinariate is the “fulfillment of the hopes of many Anglicans in the United States who have longed and prayed for reconciliation with the Catholic Church.”