The Ordinariate Observer A Publication of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter Winter 2016 | Vol. 2, No. 3
OUR NEW BISHOP
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is now in the hands of its first-ever bishop. Who is the Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes?
The Ordinariate's Cathedral / Children's Letters to Their Bishop / A Guide to the Ordination
For all that has been For all that will be We give
thanks
The Priests, Chancery Staff & Lay Faithful of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter Congratulate & Welcome
OUR NEW BISHOP
Steven J. Lopes Ad multos annos
The Ordinariate Observer A Publication of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter
FEATURES 8 Cover Story The Journey of Steven Lopes Who is the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter?
The Ordinariate Observer | 3
NEWS 16 Biography 8
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17 Statement by Bishop Lopes 18 Fast Facts: The Ordinariate 20 Why does the Ordinariate need a bishop? 21 Ordinariate 101: Terms & FAQs 26 Heroes in Faith 30 Milestones: History of the Ordinariate 32 Ordination Schedule of Events 33 Curriculum Vitae: Bishop Lopes 40 In His Own Words
YOUTH 22 Letters from Children
COLUMNS 6
Letter from the Ordinary Emeritus
25 News from the Principal Church 30
LITURGY 42 Guide to the Ordination of a Bishop
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| Winter 2016
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His Eminence
Donald Cardinal Wuerl Archbishop of Washington and the
Priests, Religious and Lay Faithful of the
Archdiocese of Washington
offer congratulations and prayerful good wishes to
Bishop-Elect Steven J. Lopes on his appointment as the first bishop of the
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
Words of Unity
A LETTER FROM THE ORDINARY EMERITUS
O
n Feb. 2, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter will take a very significant step forward. The ordination of the Rev. Msgr. Steven J. Lopes as the first bishop to lead the Ordinariate is a great blessing that will help to bring permanence to our mission! I welcome this news with all my heart, for the Ordinariate has now progressed to the point where a bishop is much needed By for our life and work. A bishop will help to Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson give the Ordinariate the stability necessary to fulfill its mission to be a work of Catholic unity, whose roots are to be found in the great texts of the Second Vatican Council. That the Ordinariate would ultimately be headed by a bishop has been the intention of Anglicanorum coetibus, the apostolic constitution under which we were established in 2012. It is indeed an encouraging sign that we have reached that goal. With the inauguration of our new missal, “I welcome this news Divine Worship, this past Advent, the with all my heart, for time seems especially propitious for this historical appointment. the Ordinariate has It was on the occasion of my now progressed to the reception into the Catholic Church point where a bishop in 2007 when I first met Bishop is much needed for Lopes, and we have worked closely our life and work.” together ever since. There is no one who knows better the work of the Pastoral Provision and the Ordinariates: those entities created in response to Anglicans seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. Bishop Lopes has been deeply involved the Anglicanae Traditiones Commission, charged with identifying “that liturgical expression which has nourished and maintained Catholic faith amongst Anglicans throughout the period of ecclesial separation and which in these days has given rise to aspirations for full communion with the Catholic Church.” There is probably no one who has worked harder and who has a deeper knowledge of the Ordinariates. I rejoice to be able to welcome Bishop Lopes and to hand on to him the leadership of what is surely the most remarkable endeavor the Catholic Church has ever launched for the cause of Christian unity. Truly it has been a privilege to serve with you and for you during these first four years of the Ordinariate’s life. Pope Francis has appointed me to be apostolic administrator of the Ordinariate until Feb. 2, 2016. And then I look forward to serve as a Catholic priest in the years ahead. Perhaps those famous words in Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s farewell address to the U.S. Congress in 1951 – “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away” – should apply to old ordinaries, as well! But you will have my love and prayers always. Let us continue to embrace the particular vocation to which we have been called in Anglicanorum coetibus: to build up the Body of Christ through the sharing of gifts, by bringing the good things of our Anglican tradition to the Catholic Church and receiving from Her the fullness of truth. Yours faithfully in Christ, Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson Apostolic Administrator
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The Ordinariate Observer BISHOP Most Rev. Steven J. Lopes VICAR GENERAL Father Charles Hough, III CHANCELLOR Laurie Miller MISSION ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Barbara Jonte FINANCE OFFICE Deacon Mark Stockstill COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Jenny Faber
The Ordinariate Observer is published quarterly for members and friends of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. PLEASE SEND STORY PITCHES AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: PO Box 55206 Houston, Texas 77255 media@ordinariate.net
Cover Story
How a boy from California’s East Bay came to lead the Catholic Church’s bold venture for Christian unity
Serve
Called to
F
or Steven Joseph Lopes, the call to priesthood was never an abstract idea.
“I wanted to be a priest like Fr. Marvin Steffes,” he said of his childhood parish pastor, whose loving care for parishioners would model the life of service that Lopes, as a teenager, hoped to someday live. Similarly, Bishop Lopes’ desire to serve the people of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was not — is not — a theoretical concept. As the Vatican official responsible for reviewing every dossier of clergy applying to join the Catholic Church through the Ordinariates, Bishop Lopes had the “overwhelming experience of reading all the stories of priests who have made Herculean efforts to come into the Church,” he said. Poring over those autobiographies — “a holy exercise,” as he called it — gave him a felt sense of awe at “how the Holy Spirit was living and working in the lives of the people of the by Jenny Faber The Ordinariate Observer | 9
Ordinariate.” Though highly learned in the teachings of the Church (thanks to 24 years of Catholic education), Bishop Lopes’ love for the Church is not academic or intellectual. It has been his concrete experiences with God’s human instruments throughout his life — his family, his priest mentors and collaborators, religious men and women, along with countless people in the pews — that planted, formed and inspired his vocation to serve the people of God as a priest. His fidelity to that vocation now calls him toward a new step on his faith journey: to become the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a diocese for Roman Catholics across the United States and Canada who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition.
lesson that that the practice of faith “wasn’t just on Sundays.” Bishop Lopes was 14 years old when his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Two years later, José died. Father Marvin In the years surrounding his father’s illness and passing, Bishop Lopes discovered a spiritual mentor in his pastor at St. Edward Catholic Church and School. Fr. Marvin Steffes was a priest of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) who had been assigned to St. Edward in 1979. As pastor, Fr. Steffes was renown for his kindness, attentiveness and paternal love for the people of the Newark,
“I think my own sense of vocation grew simply by working alongside Fr. Marvin and seeing how he would minister to us.”
Roots of Faith Bishop Lopes was born in Fremont, Calif., in the East Bay region of San Francisco, in 1975. The only child of Barbara Jane Lopes and the late Dr. José de Oliveira Lopes, he is the son of two lifelong educators. José was a talented linguist who taught languages and history at the university level. Barbara taught in Catholic schools for 47 years before her retirement; she specialized in middle school education and received a national recognition for excellence from the National Catholic Educational Association in 2003. “I am my parents’ son in that I am very much at home in a classroom,” laughed Bishop Lopes, who received his K thru 12 education entirely at Catholic schools in the Bay Area: St. Pius School (Redwood City, Calif.); St. Edward School (Newark, Calif.); and Moreau Catholic High School (Hayward, Calf.), where he graduated in 1993. His mother — a woman of Polish descent — was born and raised in Detroit, where much of her family still resides. Bishop Lopes’ father was Portuguese, hailing from Sao Jorge Island in the Azores. José emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1960s and made a home amongst the vibrant Portuguese community in Northern California. He became an American citizen in 1970. His parents, as faithful Roman Catholics, ensured simple living and religious expressions were part of their son’s daily living. Bishop Lopes said at home, he learned the fundamental 10
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Calif. parish. When Bishop Lopes was in eighth grade, Fr. Steffes came to his classroom door and asked “to speak with Mr. Lopes.” Why? The Precious Blood father wanted to invite the then14-year-old Lopes to be part of a quartet of students who would serve as sacristans at the parish. Bishop Lopes said yes. For the next eight years, the future priest and bishop would learn from Fr. Steffes not only how to train altar servers or clean up after Mass, but also an intuitive sense of service to others and a commitment to the greater good. Frequently, the warmhearted pastor would spark friendly conversations with the young Lopes to subtly “quiz” the teen on the theology he was learning in Catholic school. “I think my own sense of vocation grew simply Early Days by working alongside him Above: Bishop Lopes as an altar and seeing how he would boy at St. Edward Catholic Church minister to us,” Bishop in Newark, Calif. Clockwise from Lopes said. “Marvin top right: Fr. Marvin Steffes, C.PP.S., with a young Bishop Lopes entering was just a very good seminary in Menlo Park, Calif.; Bishop man and very at ease Lopes cooking American cuisine for around people. He has fellow seminarians at the Collegium always been the model of Canisianum in Innsbruck, Austria; With his mother, Barbara Lopes-Dias, after priesthood for me.” his ordination to the diaconate; With By the time Steven best friend and classmate from the Lopes was in high school, Pontifical North American College, Fr. the example of Fr. Steffes Jeffrey Loseke.
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had irreversibly influenced his path. While a Moreau High School Mariner, Bishop Lopes began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He continued his discernment during his studies at the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco (USF), where he majored in theology and minored in philosophy and German. At USF, he lived on the fourth floor of Gillson Hall, where he roomed with a future Benedictine brother and became classmates with others who would be eventually be called to priesthood, too. Together, they studied and deliberated the Great Books of the Western World and fell deeper in love with the Catholic faith. With the encouragement of his friends and family, in 1996 Bishop Lopes entered St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. for one year. A standout student, he was sent on to the Pontifical North American College in Rome to continue his seminary education as a candidate for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. From Parish Ministry to the Vatican Bishop Lopes’ days as a seminarian and priest have taken him back and forth across the Atlantic. As a seminarian, he studied philosophy and liturgy at the University of Innsbruck in Germany before earning a baccalaureate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2000. On June 23, 2001, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Cardinal William J. Levada (then Archbishop Levada). After his ordination, Bishop Lopes served as an associate pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church near Union Square in downtown San Francisco. He then returned to Rome to complete his licentiate degree in theology at the Gregorian University. After finishing that second degree from the Gregorian, Bishop Lopes headed back to California to serve as an associate pastor for two years at St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, Calif. He then returned once again to Rome to earn his third degree — a doctorate in sacred theology — from the Gregorian. While obtaining his doctorate, Lopes was invited by thenArchbishop Levada to serve as his priest secretary in San Francisco. Bishop Lopes was prepared to return home to the Bay Area for this new position — until Archbishop Levada was named Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican office responsible for promoting and preserving Catholic teaching. So Lopes remained in Rome. In 2005, he was appointed an official of the CDF and would serve as secretary to two Prefects of the Congregation: Archbishop Levada, who was elevated to cardinal in 2006, and Gerhard Cardinal Müller, who succeeded Cardinal Levada in 2012. During his time at the CDF, Bishop Lopes was also actively teaching across the Eternal City: as an adjunct theology professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University; as a homiletics instructor at the Pontifical North American College; and as a faculty member for the summer sabbatical program for the 12
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Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. “I’ve not had the usual priesthood,” Bishop Lopes said. He envisioned becoming a parish priest. His years in Rome were not what he expected when he was ordained. “But I’ve come to see in teaching students and in my ministry at the CDF, there is a tremendous joy to be found as a priest,” he said. “When it comes to the daily celebration of the Eucharist, we understand the gifts we offer flow from the life we lead — and the gifts we receive from the Eucharist flow back into the life we lead,” Bishop Lopes said. “So knowing that the work I do is always united to the sacrifice of Christ — that sustains me.” The Road to the Ordinariates Long before Bishop Lopes arrived at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy See had been paving a path for individual Anglican clergy to come into the Church as Catholic priests. In 1980, the Vatican established a Pastoral Provision that provided a way for these clergy to be ordained, and to create “personal parishes” within existing Roman Catholic dioceses for groups of formerly Anglican laity called to the Catholic Church. But in 2007, groups of former Anglicans began to persistently raise new questions to the Holy See: Would there be a way for us to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, which we have identified as our true spiritual “home,” not as individuals but as entire communities? Could our parishes join the Catholic Church in such a way that we could preserve elements of our liturgical heritage? A study was commissioned to uncover the answers to these inquiries. Bishop Lopes, as an official of the CDF, was among the first assigned to the commission. The group’s work eventually gave birth to the November 2009 apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, in which Pope Benedict XVI authorized the creation of Personal Ordinariates: structures equivalent to dioceses that are fully Roman Catholic, yet retain elements of Anglican heritage and liturgical practice. By this constitution, the Church affirmed the Second Vatican Council’s vision for Christian unity in which diverse expressions of one faith could be joined together in the Church. (In the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis redintegatio, the Catholic Church specified what it would look like to bring all Christians together into communion. The Council said Christian groups would bring their own distinctive traditions to the Catholic Church; they would not be suppressed or absorbed.) After Anglicanorum coetibus was issued, Bishop Lopes served as the executive coordinator of the Vatican commission, Anglicanae Traditiones, which developed Divine Worship: The Missal, a historic new book of liturgical texts for the celebration of Mass in the Personal Ordinariates around the globe. The missal combines elements of the Catholic and Anglican liturgical traditions. Bishop Lopes likes to call the Ordinariate “ecumenism in the front row.” “It is a model of realized ecumenism, a reminder — uncomfortable perhaps for some — that simple coexistence among Christians is not the unity our Lord prayed for,” he said. Many of Bishop Lopes’ nearly 11 years at the CDF were spent articulating the theology of how the Ordinariates could contribute to the vitality of the entire Catholic Church. But it was his experience of evaluating the hundreds of applications of clergy applying for entrance to the Ordinariate that gave him the deepest insight into the reality of Christians being
“There is a tremendous joy to be found as a priest.�
Set Apart to Serve
William Cardinal Levada (then Archbishop Levada) ordains Lopes a priest for the Archdicoese of San Francisco on June 23, 2001. Inset: Bishop Lopes, second from LEFT, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist at his Mass of Ordination to the priesthood.
The Ordinariate Observer | 13
drawn together into one communion. “It was my job to read their spiritual autobiographies — to learn of their lives, ministries and faith that led them to the Catholic Church,” Bishop Lopes said. Reading those stories reawakened in him a sense of wonderment of being part of God’s Church. “These priests and people are from communities that are vibrant and whose faith has cost them; they’ve had to make major decisions that affect their parishes and families in order to come into the Catholic Church,” he said. “But this makes them tremendous evangelizers! They are able to articulate the joy of being Catholic — and the sense of adventure that being faithful can push us past our comfort zones.” ‘In the hands of God’ On Nov. 24, 2015, Pope Francis named Bishop Lopes, 40, to be the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. At the Houston press conference to announce the news, Bishop Lopes said he learned of his appointment from the CDF’s Cardinal Müller, who began the conversation with Lopes by calling him and stating simply (in German), “It’s me. Go wait for me in my office.” 14 | Winter 2016
After getting past the At Work gulp in his throat once Clockwise from top left: Visiting with he was told of Pope Fr. David Schunk, friend and Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of San Francis’ appointment, Francisco; Touring ecumenical leaders Bishop Lopes thought of on a pilgrimage to Rome, including the many people in the Archbishop George Niederauer of San Ordinariate he has come Francisco and Bishop Tod Brown of Orange, Calf.; Meeting with Fr. Charles to know through his years Hough IV and liturgist Edmund of ministry at the CDF. “It Murray of Our Lady of Walsingham was in thinking of them, Catholic Church to plan the Feb. who have become true 2 Mass of Ordination; Addressing a full room at the Nov. 24, 2015 friends, that I thought, press conference to announce his ‘There is no where else and appointment as bishop. Above right: with no one else I would Distributing communion on the First rather be.’” Sunday of Advent, Nov. 29, 2015. Below right: With Cardinal Levada at He admitted “nothing the North American College in Rome ever prepares you for being in December 2015. a bishop.” But he did note that his 10 years of working alongside Cardinal Levada at the CDF was “a privileged school” in learning to be a responsible servant leader of the Church. “Cardinal Levada is a tremendously wise person who is a quintessential professional, and whose every action and deed was motivated by love for the Church,” Bishop Lopes said. “I
Photos courtesy Steven J. Lopes, Catholic San Francisco, Archdiocese of San Francisco and by J. Faber
learned from him the practice of discernment, of recognizing what is necessary to do, so that I may be responsible before God for all the people of the Ordinariate.” His immediate goal as bishop is to visit as many of the Ordinariate’s 43 parishes and communities across the Unites States and Canada as he can. “I’ll be spending a lot of time on an airplane,” he said. When Bishop Lopes visited with Pope Francis the week before Thanksgiving, the Holy Father had just reminded bishops to stay in their dioceses and work, and not to become “airport bishops.” Bishop Lopes said he asked the Holy Father for a little exception to that rule. “I’ll be on the road a lot, going out to the people,” he said. Bishop Lopes is already scheduled to visit 11 parishes in the U.S. and Canada in his first four months as a bishop.
Bishop Lopes has great hope that the Ordinariate’s work and mission will escalate. The Ordinariate just launched its newest community of three dozen members — St. Margaret of Scotland — in Katy, Texas on Dec. 13. Recalling that one of the Ordinariate’s larger parishes began with just a trio of members and now boasts nearly 800 parishioners, Bishop Lopes said, “It “I learned from Cardinal is an amazing thing that Levada the practice God has done.” of discernment, of “The Ordinariate has a marvelous story recognizing what is to tell,” he continued. necessary to do, so that I “It’s a story about faith may be responsible before being adventure, about membership in the God for all the people of how Church is not to be taken the Ordinariate.” for granted, and how being part of the Church has an implication of how we live our lives. When we talk about the development of the Ordinariate, God is the ultimate architect of it. This great work — the work of the communion of the Church — is not ‘ours.’ It is in the hands of God.” ■ The Ordinariate Observer | 15
Biography
The Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter ■ A Brief Biography ■
Bishop Lopes’ family includes his mother, Barbara; his step-father, Abilio Dias; five stepbrothers; and a step-sister. Bishop Lopes was educated in Catholic Schools in the Golden State: St. Pius School (Redwood City, Calif.); St. Edward School (Newark, Calif.); and Moreau Catholic High School (Hayward, Calf.). In high school, he began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He continued his discernment during his studies at the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco, where he majored in theology and minored in philosophy and German.
Bishop Lopes met with Blessed John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis throughout his years as an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
S
teven Joseph Lopes is the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and the first bishop for any of the three Personal Ordinariates in the world. (The other two Ordinariates are located in the United Kingdom and Australia.) He was born in Fremont, Calif. in 1975 as the only child to Barbara Jane Lopes and the late Dr. José de Oliveira Lopes. His father was Portuguese and his mother is Polish. His father emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1960s and became an American citizen in 1970. His mother was born and raised in Detroit, where much of her family still resides.
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He studied philosophy and liturgy at the University of Innsbruck. He then earned three degrees – including a doctorate – in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he has also served as an adjunct faculty member. Bishop Lopes has also taught at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and in the summer sabbatical program for the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious.
In 2001, Cardinal William J. Levada (then Archbishop Levada) ordained Bishop Lopes a priest. Bishop Lopes spent the first several years of his priesthood as an associate pastor at two parishes: St. Patrick Catholic Church in San Francisco and St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, Calif. Since 2005, he has served as an official of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for promoting and preserving Catholic teaching. For seven of his 10-plus years at the Vatican, he served as secretary to the Cardinal Prefect. He was named monsignor in 2010. Bishop Lopes is a chaplain in the Order of Malta, and remains deeply committed to the Order's service to the sick and the poor. For his motto, Bishop Lopes has selected the Latin phrase, “Magna Opera Domini,” or in English, “Great are the works of the Lord.” By these words, our new bishop expresses his awe of God’s grace in drawing His people to the fullness of Eucharistic communion. ■
P Praised be Jesus Christ! Dear Friends,
It is with humility and in a spirit of obedience to our Lord that I accept this appointment to serve as Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Trusting in the intercession of Our Lady, the consciousness of my limitations yields to gratitude, hope, and joy. I am grateful for the ecumenical vision of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who reminded us that unity of faith allows for vibrant diversity in the expression of that faith. I am grateful for the fatherly care Pope Francis continues to show for the Ordinariates, born from the rich patrimony of English Catholicism. Indeed, in the approval of the new Missal for the celebration of Mass, in the careful consideration of clergy who desire to join us, and in the appointment of the first Ordinariate Bishop, Pope Francis is making this
Statement
A Message from Bishop Lopes model of communion-in-diversity ever more concrete. Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson has been for me an outstanding example of wisdom, graciousness, and evangelical zeal. He truly has the heart of a Priest and I am confident that all of the faithful and clergy of the Ordinariate join me in saying: Thank you. We could not have asked for a better leader to lay the foundations for the Ordinariate in the United States and Canada. Through my work at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I have come to know firsthand the Priests and communities of this Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. They have a passion for the communion of the Church and for the truth of the Gospel as contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition that fills me with hope. I see the vitality that the Ordinariate brings to the Universal Church, and I know that there is a bright
future ahead. It is a great joy and privilege to be joined to this Particular Church under the patronage of St. Peter and to share in its mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I stand among women and men for whom “Catholic communion” is no abstract concept. They have sacrificed for it. They have displayed courage and fortitude in favor of it. They have thrown wide open the doors of their hearts to the infinite possibilities of what God’s grace can accomplish in and through them. It can and should move the heart of every Catholic to witness this amazing courage and this vitality in our Church. So here we stand, together, in this thing with a peculiar name, “Ordinariate,” but with a dynamism and beauty all its own. It is the Lord who has accomplished this in his Church, and great are the works of the Lord! — Steven J. Lopes
Fast Facts: The Ordinariate
What is the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter? ABOUT
WHY THE ORDINARIATE WAS CREATED
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is equivalent to a diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition. The Ordinariate was created by the Vatican on Jan. 1, 2012. Members of the Ordinariate are fully Roman Catholic, while retaining elements of Anglican heritage in their celebration of Mass and in the hospitality and ministries of their Catholic parishes.
The establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was the Vatican’s pastoral response to repeated and persistent inquiries made by Anglican individuals and groups in the United States and Canada who, over time, have come to identify the Catholic Church as their home. Those joining the Ordinariate have discerned they are truly Catholic in what they believe and desire full membership in the Catholic Church.
MISSION The Ordinariate exists for those who are and who will be coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. Through the reverence and beauty of our worship, the study of Sacred Scripture and charity for those in need, we desire to share the joy of being Roman Catholic! We wish to build bridges with all our brothers and sisters who are drawn to the Catholic Church, so that we might build up the one Body of Christ.
INSTRUMENTS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY In the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegatio), the Catholic Church specified what it would look like to bring all Christians together into communion. The Council said Christian groups would bring their own distinctive traditions to the Catholic Church; they would not be suppressed or absorbed. The Vatican’s generous expression of care in establishing the Ordinariates affirms the Catholic Church’s vision for Christian unity, in which diverse expressions of one faith are joined together in the Church.
OUR CLERGY The Ordinariate’s priests and deacons are clergy who were ordained after an extensive formation process in the Catholic Church. This process requires: a background check; the approval of the Ordinariate and the Vatican; the completion of an approved formation program; and an examination. Celibacy is the norm for clergy. Permission has been given on a case-by-case basis by the Pope for former Anglican priests who are married to be ordained Catholic priests for the Ordinariate. If widowed, they may not remarry.
IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA Based in Houston, Texas, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter has more than 40 Roman Catholic parishes and communities across the U.S. and Canada. • • • • •
1 Bishop 1 Ordinary Emeritus 62 Priests 6 Deacons 4 Candidates for Priesthood or the Diaconate • 1 Seminarian • 43 Parishes & Communities
AROUND THE GLOBE There are three Personal Ordinariates in the world: Our Lady of Walsingham in the United Kingdom; the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada; and Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia.
OUR MEMBERS Those who join the Ordinariate desire full communion with the Catholic Church because of their belief in Her teachings and authority. Lay people who are not yet Catholic and who wish to join the Ordinariate are required to undergo a period of preparation; apply in writing to join the Ordinariate; and to be confirmed as Catholics — just as others entering the Church do. The formation process currently includes study of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. Former Anglicans and Methodists who have already become Catholic and wish to join the Ordinariate may submit an application form to the Ordinariate.
MASSES IN THE ORDINARIATE The mission of the Ordinariate is particularly experienced in the reverence and beauty of our worship, which features Anglican traditions of worship while conforming to Catholic doctrinal, sacramental and liturgical standards.
Book English.
Through Divine Worship: The Missal — the liturgy that unites the Ordinariates throughout the English-speaking world — we share our distinctive commitment to praising God in the eloquence of the Anglican liturgical patrimony and Prayer
OUR LEADER Members of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter are united with the entire Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis. As of Nov. 24, 2015, the Ordinariate is particularly led by Bishop Steven J. Lopes, who serves under the direct authority of the Holy Father to build up the Catholic Church through mutual mission and ministry.
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The Diocese of Fort Worth Congratulates
BishopElect Steven J. Lopes on his appointment as
the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter The Diocese of Fort Worth, Bishop Michael F. Olson, and the priests, religious, deacons, and laity of the Diocese join in heartfelt congratulations to Bishop-Elect Steven J. Lopes on his appointment. Our diocese has had a long and happy association with the People of God who share the heritage of the Anglican traditions within the Roman Catholic Church. It brings us particular joy to witness the fullfillment of the Ordinariate’s unity with the entire church, represented by Bishop Lopes becoming the first Catholic bishop to head the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
May God bring to fulfillment the good work he has begun in you.
Insight
Why does the Ordinariate need a bishop?
T
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict on Jan. 1, 2012. At that time, Pope Benedict named Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson to be the first the Ordinary, or leader, of the Ordinariate. Msgr. Steenson and his wife, Debra, came into the Catholic Church in 2007, after 28 years of ministry in the Church of England and the Episcopal Church. Msgr. Steenson was ordained for the Catholic priesthood in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 2009, and was instrumental in establishing the formation program for Anglican priests applying for the Catholic priesthood as part of the Ordinariate. The Ordinariate escalated under Msgr. Steenson’s leadership, establishing more than 40 parishes and communities across the United States and Canada between 2012 and 2015.
that the Ordinariate is a permanent, enduring part of the Catholic Church, like any other diocese — one that is now given a bishop so that it may deepen its contribution to the life of the Church and the world. In a Nov. 24 letter to the faithful of the Ordinariate, Msgr. Steenson echoed this point, writing: “The Ordinariate is a particular church, equivalent to a diocese. But for it to function fully in this way and be accepted as such, it needs to be headed by a bishop. From apostolic times this has been the standard: ‘Where the bishop is, there let the people be, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Bishop Lopes and Msgr. Steenson Catholic Church’ (Ignatius of Antioch Smyrneans 8.2).” Msgr. Steenson also noted that with What prompted the appointment of the increasing number a bishop for this By naming a bishop, the pope has of clergy coming thriving structure? confirmed that the Ordinariate is into the Ordinariate, By naming the a permanent, enduring part of the a bishop is needed first bishop for the Catholic Church. to provide stable Ordinariate, Pope leadership for the Francis chose to affirm and amplify Pope Benedict’s vision presbyterate. “Priests need to be gathered around the bishop – it is integral to their for Christian unity, in which diverse apostolic identity and a sign of the unity expressions of one faith are joined of the Body of Christ,” Msgr. Steenson together in the Church. By naming said. – Jenny Faber Bishop Lopes, the Pope confirmed
Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, and the people of the Diocese of Oakland offer heartfelt congratulations to our diocese’s native son and graduate from our Catholic schools
Congratulations
Bishop Steven J. Lopes On being named the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter
Most Reverend
Steven J. Lopes upon your appointment as the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter Be assured of our prayers for you as you begin this important ministry to the People of God entrusted to your care
Archbishop José H. Gomez
the Auxiliary Bishops, the clergy, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Terminology & FAQs
Ordinariate101 Common phrases and terms Ordinariate
Anglicanorum coetibus
An ordinariate is similar to a diocese. However, a diocese is “territorial”: its members live in a specific geographic area. An ordinariate is “personal”: its members may live anywhere the ordinariate is authorized to function. They belong to the ordinariate because of a shared attribute — in the case of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, because they are Roman Catholics who retain elements of Anglican heritage in their celebration of Mass and in the hospitality and ministries of their parishes and communities.
This is the apostolic constitution issued by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2009 that authorized the creation of “Ordinariates.” Parishes and communities in these ordinariates are fully Roman Catholic, but retain elements of Anglican heritage and liturgy in their parishes. Pronounced “Anglican-orum CHAY-tee-boose.”
Chair of St. Peter
Congratulations
This is a reference to the office of the apostle Peter, the first pope, and his successors. The chair of a bishop is placed in the mother church of a diocese and is a symbol of his authority and mission to tend to the people of God and keep them united in faith and charity. The Chair of St. Peter is a symbol of the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter, and continued in an unbroken line through the present pope. The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is celebrated Feb. 22 and commemorates St. Peter’s place as the servantleader of the entire Church.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ARE MEMBERS OF THE ORDINARIATE ALSO PART OF A LOCAL DIOCESE? No, they are part of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. However, Ordinariate communities and clergy are encouraged to have close relationships with the dioceses in which they are located. Many Ordinariate priests receive faculties to assist in diocesan parishes.
Divine Worship: The Missal Divine Worship: The Missal is a new, definitive book of liturgical texts for the celebration of Mass in the Personal Ordinariates around the world. The missal uses Prayer Book English — language derived from the classic books of the Anglican tradition — that is fully Catholic in expression and content. The book was approved by the Vatican for use beginning the first Sunday of Advent, November 29, 2015. The formal establishment of a missal that uses the great poetic language of the Anglican heritage is a nod to the gift the Ordinariate communities are being asked to pass on to their members and to the entire Catholic Church. The missal is the fruit of receptive and realized ecumenism, representing the possibility of diversity of expressions within the unity of the Church’s faith.
CAN LIFELONG CATHOLICS JOIN AN ORDINARIATE PARISH? Any Catholic may attend Ordinariate liturgies and functions, just as members of the Ordinariate can attend liturgies and functions at any Catholic parish. While lifelong Catholics are welcome to attend Masses in an Ordinariate parish, they would be members of a regular diocese (unless a close family member is eligible to join the Ordinariate). If a Catholic has left the Church but is reconciled to it through an Ordinariate parish and completes his or her sacraments of initiation in an Ordinariate parish, they are eligible for membership in the Ordinariate. Lifelong Catholics who worship with an Ordinariate community are welcome to become formal “affiliates” of the Ordinariate, and should consult with their local Ordinariate pastor about how to do so.
IS THE ORDINARIATE A SEPARATE RITE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? No. The Ordinariate exists entirely within the context of the Roman Catholic Church. Its worship, while distinctive, is a form of the Roman Rite. Ordinariate parishes celebrate Mass using Divine Worship: The Missal, a definitive book of liturgical texts promulgated by the Vatican in Advent 2015. This missal uses Prayer Book English — language derived from the classic books of the Anglican liturgical tradition — that is fully Catholic in content and expression. ■
The Ordinariate Observer | 21
Letters from Children
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T
his winter, children from parishes and communities across the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter took time to share a few words — or in some cases, drawings — of welcome for their new bishop. In their simple but wise messages, they express the sentiments of so many in the Ordinariate: “We are happy you are our bishop.” “My family will be praying for you.” “I hope you will visit soon.” “Happy Ordination Day!”
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Column
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL CHURCH
The Cathedral’s Role: Center of Unity, in Service of All “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing..” – 1 Thessalonians. 5:11
Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston will become the Cathedral of the Ordinariate upon Bishop Lopes’ ordination. INSET: Fr. Chuck Hough IV, LEFT, Fr. James T. Moore, Dr. Clint Brand and Deacon James Barnett visit about the Ordinariate's growth.
A
s Advent began this liturgical year, a small group from Our Lady of Walsingham traveled two hours northwest of Houston to a homestead outside of the small town of Iola, Texas. There we greeted the founding priest of our parish, Fr. James T. Moore. We came to give him a gift: Divine Worship: The Missal. For Fr. Moore and so many around the world, the new missal represents a culmination of 35 years of ministry in communion with the See of St. Peter. Of course, there was a tremendous amount of news to converse about, but none larger than the announcement of the Rev. Msgr. Steven Lopes being appointed as the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. In his role as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Lopes offered continuous guidance, support and a very hospitable welcome to thousands of Anglicans crossing the Tiber and finding a home in Ordinariate congregations around the world. As the conversation with Fr. Moore continued, we spoke about the news conference that announced Bishop Lopes’ appointment. We told him how a good friend
of the parish, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza, asked at the press conference: Since the Ordinariate now has a bishop, does that make Our Lady of Walsingham a Cathedral? The answer from By Bishop Lopes was a Fr. Charles A. resounding “Amen!” Hough, IV Fr. Moore was overjoyed with this great news. He reminisced about the mighty works of the Lord. He spoke of the group of 12 who became Catholic in 1984 and how they had grown through God’s grace into a parish, and now that same parish planted 31 years ago has become the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham. (While Bishop Lopes will officially be received at the Cathedral at Mass on Feb. 7, the Cathedra — or bishop's chair — from Our Lady of Walsingham will be brought to Houston's Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart for his ordination on Feb. 2.) As Bishop Lopes comes to his new Cathedral and takes a seat in his Cathedra on Sunday, Feb. 7, there is no doubt we
will be overjoyed and thank Almighty God for this providential culmination of history. With this blessing, though, we must also fully understand that a new mission has been bestowed upon this place named for Our Lady. Our mission as the Cathedral is to be the center of unity around the authority and guidance of the bishop. This Cathedral is in service of the local parishes of the Ordinariate for the building up of all the faithful of the Ordinariate. It is a new mission that Our Lady of Walsingham must live into, just as we all have been living into the great mission given to us in Anglicanorum coetibus. In and through all of these great works of the Lord we must continue to pray for God’s grace on our new bishop and the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. I remain, Faithfully in Christ through Mary, The Very Rev. Charles A. Hough, IV Father Charles A. Hough, IV is the Rector of Our Lady of Walsingham, which will become the Cathedral of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on Feb. 7, 2016.
The Ordinariate Observer | 25
Guiding Lights
Heroes in Faith : The saints who inspire Bishop Lopes Saint Walburga
A Benedictine nun who answered the missionary call to aid the work of evangelization in Germany Feast Day: Feb. 25 Notable • Born in England to an aristocratic family, Saint Walburga was entrusted to the care of Benedictine nuns in Wimbourne (present-day Dorset) at an early age. She eventually made her monastic profession to the community. • Walburga is the niece of Saint Boniface, one of the great English apostles and a bishop who worked for the evangelization of Germany. • She was abbess of the monastery at Heidenheim, a monastery of men and women founded by her brother, Saint Wunibald. • Monastic life has continued without interruption at the Abtei St. Walburg in Germany from 1035 AD to today. In 1935, nuns from that monastery were sent to Colorado to found the community which has become the Abbey of St. Walburga in Virginia Dale, a small town north of Fort Collins, Colorado. Bishop Lopes is a regular visitor to that monastery and has also made a pilgrimage to Saint Walburga's tomb in Germany. Source: Abbey of St. Walburga
Saint Gaspar del Bufalo
Founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the religious community of Fr. Marvin Steffes, C.PP.S., Bishop Lopes’ first priest mentor Feast Day: Oct. 21 Notable • Raised in Rome, Gaspar del Bufalo was aware of his calling to the priesthood as a teenager. He grew up with a great and natural concern for people on the margins: the poor, the sick and the orphaned. • Ordained a priest in 1808, he started a society for farm workers and laborers to draw people back to the Church. • Shortly after his ordination, he refused to sign an oath of allegiance to Napoleon (who was sweeping into power in the Papal States at the time); as a result, Gaspar del Bufalo was exiled and imprisoned for four years. • When Napolean’s rule was over, he returned to the Eternal City with a vision to continue works of mercy and evangelization in the context of community. In the town of Giano, he founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) on Aug. 15, 1815. The congregation was founded to preach missions and retreats for the spiritual renewal of people; Gaspar was renown for preaching hope, rooted in the Blood of Jesus that offers true and lasting peace, as a way of renewing the Church and Her people. • Gaspar Melchior Balthazar del Bufalo was named after the the three Magi who visited the Christ Child.
Above left: Stained glass window in Cranberry Prarie, OH, depicting Saint Gaspar de Bufalo. Left: Saint Walburga reliquary in Munich, Germany. Below: Statue of Saint Ignatius at Georgetown University.
Source: Missionaries of the Precious Blood • Cincinnati Province
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Founder of the Society of Jesus ( Jesuits) who desired his community and all the faithful "find God in all things." Bishop Lopes studied at three Jesuit-run institutions: the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco; the Collegium Canisianum in Innsbruck; and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Feast Day: July 31 Notable • Born to a family of minor nobility, Ignatius was an officer in the Spanish army when he was injured in battle — a cannonball shattered his leg — at age 30. During his recovery, he convalesced at a family castle, where he passed time by reading about the life of Christ and biographies of the saints. The readings stirred him to find God in the lives of all people — and during this conversion, he began to write the material that would become his most famous work, The Spiritual Exercises. • His conversion prompted him to start a religious order that would fan out to the metropolises of Europe and beyond. Thus began the beginnings of Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit ministry. • Saint Ignatius widely encouraged the Jesuits to spend most of their time not in pulpits or confessionals, but among the people, in spaces such as classrooms. • He may have been the only saint with a notarized police record: for taking part in a nighttime brawl. Source: Jesuits.org, Americancatholic.org
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The Diocese of Orange joyfully and gratefully congratulates Bishop Steven J. Lopes on his appointment as the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Bishop Lopes’ care, commitment, scholarship and knowledge of the formation of the Ordinariate will be a blessing to the Church in the United States. We assure Bishop Lopes and the people of the Ordinariate of the prayer and spirit of ecclesial communion of the Diocese of Orange.
Bishop Kevin W. Vann,
Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision
Bishop Dominic M. Luong Bishop Emeritus Tod D. Brown
Bishop Joe S. Vรกsquez, Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, and all the faithful of the Diocese of Austin, congratulate Bishop Steven J. Lopes on his ordination and installation as Bishop of The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
CONGRATULATIONS and THE PLEDGE OF PRAYER to
THE MOST REVEREND STEVEN J. LOPES
BISHOP OF THE PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER His Excellency
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde and the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Arlington
M History
Milestones Key dates in the history of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter
NOV. 4, 2009 - In response to repeated and persistent inquiries from Anglican groups worldwide who, over time, had come to identify the Catholic Church as their home, Pope Benedict XVI issues an apostolic constitution called Anglicanorum coetibus (pronounced Anglican-orum chay-tee-boose). This document authorizes the creation of “Ordinariates”: structures equivalent to dioceses for members who are fully Roman Catholic yet retain elements of Anglican heritage and liturgical practice. JAN. 1, 2012 - Pope Benedict establishes the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter to serve the United States and, later, Canada. The Vatican appoints the Rev. Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson as the first Ordinary, or leader, of the structure.
Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson blesses the altar during the Mass of Institution for the Ordinariate at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Feb. 12, 2012.
FEB. 12, 2012 - The Ordinariate is formally instituted at a Mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas. MARCH 4, 2013 - The first Governing Council of the Ordinariate is
established. FEB. 25, 2014 - Ordinariate members from across the United States and Canada make a pilgrimage to Rome for an audience with Pope Francis. Their pilgrimage includes a Mass with Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the
ARCHBISHOP THOMAS J. RODI AND THE
PEOPLE OF THE
ARCHDIOCESE OFFER PRAYERS
OF
AND
MOBILE
BEST WISHES
TO
THE REVEREND MONSIGNOR
STEVEN J. LOPES AS HE BEGINS HIS SERVICE AS
FIRST BISHOP
OF THE PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER WE PRAY GOD WILL SHOWER ABUNDANT BLESSINGS UPON HIM.
AUG. 24, 2015 - Evan Simington, the first seminarian for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, begins his formal studies for the Catholic priesthood at St. Mary Seminary in Houston. NOV. 24, 2015 - The Rev. Msgr. Steven J. Lopes is named by Pope Francis to be the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
A Feb. 1, 2015 Mass marks the dedication of the Ordinariate's Chancery.
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. FEB. 1, 2015 - The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter dedicates its new Chancery, located at 7730 Westview in Houston, Texas. William Cardinal Levada and Daniel
Evan Simington, the Ordinariate's first seminarian, begins studies at St. Mary Seminary in August 2015.
Cardinal DiNardo are among the guests at the dedication. A symposium on the new liturgical books of the Ordinariate is held at St. Mary Seminary, in conjunction with the dedication; the Rev. Msgr. Steven J. Lopes is a featured speaker.
NOV. 29, 2015 - Divine Worship: The Missal, a definitive book of liturgical texts for the celebration of Mass in the Personal Ordinariates around the world, is approved by the Vatican for use beginning the first Sunday of Advent 2015. The missal is the fruit of receptive and realized ecumenism, representing the possibility of diversity of expressions within the unity of the Church’s faith. FEB. 2, 2016 - Bishop Lopes is ordained a bishop by Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas. ■
Congratulations Bishop Steven J. Lopes on your ordination and installation as the first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. +Most Rev. Michael Mulvey, STL, DD Bishop of Corpus Christi
Schedule
Schedule of Events: Ordinariate Festival & Luncheon and Mass of Ordination Feb. 1, 2016 5 p.m.
Vigil of Prayer with First Evensong of Candlemas
Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church, 7809 Shadyvilla Lane, Houston, Texas
6:30 p.m. Public Reception
Assembly Hall, Chancery of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, 7730 Westview, Houston, Texas
Feb. 2, 2016 Ordinariate Festival & Luncheon at the Ordinariate Chancery 9:30 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church 10:45 a.m. Light Brunch at Ordinariate Chancery 11:45 a.m. Presentations by Msgr. Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham & Msgr. Harry Entwistle, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross 12:45 p.m. Festival: Children’s Activities, Dancing, Music and More 2 p.m.
Texas BBQ Luncheon with Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes
Mass of Ordination 7 p.m.
Mass of Episcopal Ordination of the Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes
Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St Joseph Parkway, Houston, Texas
9:30 p.m. Public Reception, Cathedral Centre
1701 San Jacinto at Jefferson
Congratulations & Best Wishes
Most Reverend Steven Lopes on your Episcopal Ordination as the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter O save your people and bless your heritage; be their shepherd and carry them forever. Psalm 28:9
From your Brothers & Sisters in
www.caedm.ca
THE MOST REV. STEVEN JOSEPH LOPES BORN In Fremont, Calif. in 1975 PARENTS Barbara Jane Lopes and the late Dr. José de Oliveira Lopes ORDINATION TO PRIESTHOOD June 23, 2001 EDUCATION St. Pius School, Redwood City, Calif. St. Edward School, Newark, Calif. Moreau Catholic High School, Hayward, Calif. B.A. Theology & Religious Studies, University of San Francisco (1997) Certificate in Liturgical Studies, University of Innsbrook (1997) Pontifical Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB), Pontifical Gregorian University (2000) Pontifical Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL), Pontifical Licentiate in Sacred Theology (2002) Pontifical Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD), Pontifical Licentiate in Sacred Theology (2005) ASSIGNMENTS/APPOINTMENTS Official in the Doctrinal Section, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City June 2005 – July 2012: Secretary to the Cardinal Prefect July 2011 – Present: Secretary of the Anglicanae traditiones Interdicasterial Commission Associate Pastor, St. Anselm Catholic Church, Ross, CA (February 2002 – January 2004) Associate Pastor, St. Patrick Catholic Church, San Francisco, CA (July 2001 – October 2001 ) ACADEMIC & TEACHING POSITIONS Adjunct Faculty, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome (2005-2015) Instructor of Homiletics, Pontifical North American College, Rome (2005-2014) Faculty, Summer Sabbatical Program, Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (2012, 2014, 2015) Faculty, Catholic Studies Institute, San Francisco, CA and Permanent Deacon Formation Program, Archdiocese of San Francisco (2003-2004) Faculty, Institute for Priestly Formation, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska (2003) MEMBERSHIPS & HONORS Chaplain of His Holiness with the title Monsignor (July 2010) Magisterial Chaplain, Order of Malta Member, Society for Catholic Liturgy Board Member, Catholic Association for Seminary Education (2005-2015)
The Ordinariate Observer | 33
Congratulations Bishop Lopes!
Most Reverend John C. Wester Archbishop of Santa Fe along with the priests, religious and laity of the Archdiocese send their love and prayers.
Congratulations Bishop Steven J. Lopes on your ordination to the office of Bishop and installation as the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter from
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki Clergy, Religious and Laity of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
and the
Bishop-Elect Lopes, Bishop Felipe J. EstĂŠvez and the faithful of the Diocese of St. Augustine congratulates
Bishop-elect Steven J. Lopes in his ministry as leader of the Catholics of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
www.dosafl.com
The prayers of the Clergy, Religious and Faithful of this Local Church of Newark are with you as you begin your new ministry as shepherd of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
May Our Lord, Jesus Christ, continue to bless you.
✠The Most Reverend John J. Myers Archbishop of Newark
Congratulations & Prayerful Best Wishes to
On the occasion of his appointment as the first bishop of the PERSONAL ORDINARIATE of the
CHAIR OF ST. PETER
Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L. and the clergy, religious and laity of the DIOCESE OF SCRANTON
Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone, the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, offer
congratulations
to Bishop-elect Steven J. Lopes on his appointment as first bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
May the Lord bless you and guide you on your journey.
Ad multos annos!
901 Orange Grove Road | Charleston, South Carolina | www.sccatholic.org
THE PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF THE C HAIR OF S AINT P ETER PARISHES AND COMMUNITIES IN THE U.S. AND C ANADA
CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC COMMUNITY Charleston, South Carolina To the Glory of God and in Thanksgiving for the Episcopal Ordination of
BISHOP-ELECT STEVEN J. LOPES
With best wishes and deep gratitude to our new Bishop The Most Rev. Steven J. Lopes
“The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.” AD MULTOS ANNOS With thanks to Almighty God On the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Lopes The People of St. Barnabas—Omaha
From the clergy and faithful of CHRIST THE KING CHURCH TOWSON, MD Fr. Ed Meeks, Pastor
WASHINGTON DC Pledging our love and prayers
Ad multos annos, Bishop Lopes!
The people of the
Parish of St. Thomas More, Toronto ✝ offer our prayers for Bishop Lopes on the occasion of his Ordination as the First Bishop of the Ordinariate.
May God grant him many years of service Fr. Timothy Perkins, Fr. Thomas Kennedy, and all the parishioners of St. Mary the Virgin, Arlington, TX offer our warmest congratulations to Bishop-elect Steven J. Lopes on his ordination to the episcopate and his appointment as the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. May God bless and guide all of us as we begin this exciting journey together.
✠
The Church of the Holy Nativity Catholic
Under The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter Payson, Arizona 85541 Offers our most sincere Congratulations To our new Bishop-elect The Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes As bishop to the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter as he assumes his role on February 2, 2016. Our love and support will be with him and our Holy Church.
to our Lord in the POCSP.
The NEWEST ORDINARIATE PARISH
— St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Katy, Texas — welcomes our new bishop to HOUSTON!
St. Thomas More Parish, Scranton
w weellccoom meess & & ccoonnggrraattuullaatteess BBiisshhoopp LLooppeess!!
““TThhee ssaayyiinngg iiss ssuurree:: IIff aannyy oonnee aassppiirreess ttoo tthhee ooffffiiccee ooff bbiisshhoopp,, hhee ddeessiirreess aa nnoobbllee ttaasskk..”” --11 TTiim mootthhyy 33::11
Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J. ✙ With the faithful of the Archdiocese of Ottawa (Canada) CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES BISHOP STEVEN J. LOPES AND THE PERSONAL ORDINARIATE OF THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER FROM BISHOP ROBERT HARRIS AND THE CLERGY, RELIGIOUS AND PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE OF SAINT JOHN HOME OF OUR LADY OF THE SIGN COMMUNITY FREDERICTON, NB, CANADA
Pray for God’s abundant blessings upon Bishop Lopes and his episcopal ministry ✙
H “ Quotables
In
is own words
A sampling of some of Bishop Lopes’ recent messages
“Pope Benedict’s was a bold vision, where the movement into full communion was not assimilation, but a welcoming of diverse gifts.” ON THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION, ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS
“
Thank God that God is not fair with us. He does not give us what we deserve. God is merciful. He forgives, and he asks us to do the same — not in the name of fairness, but in the name of love. Christian forgiveness is charged with the immeasurable power of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection. It has the power to change the world, one person at a time.” GOOD FRIDAY 2013
When we approach one another with the light of Christ — the light of Love — we fan the flame of that love, not only in our hearts, but in the hearts of all those we encounter.” EASTER VIGIL 2014
The Ordinariate is ecumenism in the front row!
The Clergy and People of the Archdiocese of Hartford extend prayerful best wishes to
The Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes on the joyful occasion of his Episcopal Ordination and Installation as the
First Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter February 2, 2016
Ad multos annos!
The Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair Archbishop of Hartford
“Faith, worship, and life…these three elements are deeply interconnected and are what forms and informs our life together in Christ. The Bishop and the Priests of the Ordinariate must always nurture what is ‘devout, religious and right’ in worship so what we celebrate together in Church not only arises out of our profession of faith and our experience of discipleship, but empowers us to deeper faith and more authentic discipleship.”
“Love is not about getting what we think we deserve, but about giving without counting the cost.” GOOD FRIDAY 2013
“The more we allow ourselves to be conformed to Christ, we become not ‘something else,’ something foreign. We are made most authentically ourselves, as God made us to be in His own image and likeness. Foolishly, we fear the stripping away demanded by our consecrated discipleship and are tempted to look back on what we may lose. We have nothing to lose but sin. And we have everything to gain.”
HOMILY, NOVEMBER 2015
Did you know? The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict on Jan. 1, 2012, with its headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Founded to serve Roman Catholics across the U.S. and Canada, it is the first diocese of its kind in North America.
Bishop Lopes speaks fluent Italian and German.
He is the first alumnus of Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, Calif. to become a bishop.
Congratulations and
Prayerful Best Wishes
He was named a monsignor by Pope Benedict in 2010.
Bishop-elect Steven J. Lopes Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, the priests, religious, and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
He is set to travel to 11 Ordinariate parishes and communities in the U.S. & Canada in his first 130 days as bishop.
ARCHSTL.ORG
The Ordinariate Observer | 41
Liturgy
A short guide to the ordination of a bishop
At the ordination of a bishop, the Book of the Gospels is placed over the head of the bishop-elect during the Prayer of Ordination.
H
ow is a priest ordained a bishop? Here is a brief summary of key highlights of the upcoming Mass of Ordination for Bishop Steven J. Lopes:
Reading of the Apostolic Mandate After more than 350 clergy process into the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, an official letter from Pope Francis calling Bishop-elect Lopes to ordination as Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter will be read aloud.
Promise of the Elect Following a homily by William Cardinal Levada, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop-elect Lopes will respond to questions about his resolve to uphold the faith and fulfill the responsibilities of a bishop, including preaching the Gospel,
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| Winter 2016
shepherding the faithful, welcoming the stranger and showing mercy to all in need.
elect. The Book of the Gospels will be placed over the bishop-elect’s head and Cardinal Müller will pray the Prayer of Ordination: the Litany of Supplication words which officially confer the Sacrament of Ordination for the Bishopbishop. All elect Lopes will bishops present Attending the Mass of Ordination: prostrate himself will also greet Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect, before the altar the bishop-elect Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith while all present with a fraternal William Cardinal Levada, Prefect Emeritus, Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith pray for him and embrace. Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archdiocese of the Church. Washington
Laying on of Hands and Prayer of Ordination
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Archbishop Joseph DiNoia, O.P., Secretary,
Anointing of the Head
Congregation for Divine Worship
The principal consecrator, Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, will lay hands on Bishopelect Lopes, invoking the Holy Spirit. The other bishops in attendance will also impose hands on the bishop-
Cardinal Müller will anoint the head of the new bishop with Sacred Chrism, signifying his full share in the priesthood.
Handing on the Book of the Gospels As a sign of the preeminent
importance of preaching God’s word, the Book of the Gospels — which was held over the bishop’s head during the Prayer of Ordination — will be given to the new bishop.
Investiture with Insignia Bishop Lopes is then vested with the signs of his new office as bishop: a ring, symbolizing his fidelity to the Church; a miter, or bishop’s hat, which symbolizes his pursuit of holiness; and a pastoral staff, or crosier, which signifies the duty of guiding and governing the Church.
Te Deum After Communion, Bishop Lopes will process through the CoCathedral to bless those present, as all sing an ancient hymn of praise to God.
– Jenny Faber
The Archdiocese of San Francisco offers congratulations and best wishes to
BISHOP STEVEN J. LOPES as he begins his pastoral service as Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. He is a dedicated priest who will use his gifts as an ardent and gentle preacher of the Gospel. Our prayers accompany him that he may be, in the words of Divine Worship: The Missal, “in word and conduct a wholesome example to the people committed to his charge, and that he with them may attain at last to the crown of everlasting life.”
ARCHBISHOP SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE with Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice and the Clergy, Religious and Laity of
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter PO Box 55206 • Houston, TX 77225
www.ordinariate.net 713.609.9292
Presorted First Class Mail U.S. Postage PAID Houston, TX Permit No. 11648
“Behold how good and joyful a thing it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
– Psalm 133:1
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is equivalent to a diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition. Called to be gracious instruments of Christian unity, members of the Ordinariate are fully Roman Catholic, while retaining elements of Anglican heritage in their celebration of liturgy and in the hospitality and ministries of their Catholic communities. Created by the Vatican in 2012 and based in Houston, Texas, the Ordinariate has more than 40 Roman Catholic parishes and communities across the United States and Canada.