The Catholic Church welcomed a group of Anglican nuns into the fold on New Year’s Day as members of two Anglican communities became a new Catholic order called the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) is reporting that 11 members of the Anglican Community of Saint Mary the Virgin, and one member of the Anglican Society of St. Margaret of Walsingham took advantage of an ecclesial structure put in place by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 that allows them to enter the Church while maintaining elements of the spiritual and liturgical patrimony of their own tradition.
The sisters, who will wear black habits and follow the Rule of St. Benedict, will spend the next six weeks with a Benedictine community learning the way of the order, but will also retain many of the traditions of their previous order.
The twelve sisters are the newest members of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, which was set up by the Pope for the purpose of welcoming disaffected Anglicans into the Church.
“We believe that the Holy Father’s offer is a prophetic gesture which brings to a happy conclusion the prayers of generations of Anglicans and Catholics who have sought a way forward for Christian unity,” said Sister Winsome, who had been superior of the Community of St. Mary the Virgin.
Several other sisters from the Society of St. Margaret have already joined the Ordinariate, along with a former Anglican bishop who is now serving as Father Robert Mercer.
William Oddie, a well-known English writer, broadcaster and convert to Catholicism, called the event “historic” and said it was “a sign of great hope for the future of the Catholic Church in England.”
So why was this story ignored by most of the mainstream media?
“Imagine the media reaction if on New Year’s Day 12 renegade Anglican nuns had held a press conference in their street clothes announcing their intent to join a dissident Catholic order so they can press for gay marriage and women priests!” wrote Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
“It would have been front-page news. And had they rented an oversized luxury bus to haul them around town, that would have been world news. But because these are humble orthodox nuns, who eschew media gimmicks, there is a news blackout.”
Regardless of the media’s silence, he has only praise for the 12 courageous women who will now continue to live their life of humble service to the Lord in the sanctuary of the Church.
He writes: “God bless these wonderful women!”
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