February 20 - Catonsville Episcopal church makes switch to Catholicism

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Catonsville is now Catholic.

Members of St. Timothy's voted on Feb. 10 whether to leave The Episcopal Church and whether to enter the Ordinariate. Eighty of 100 parishioners were present; 55 were voting members. Of the voting members, six people abstained; 83 percent elected to leave The Episcopal Church and 76 percent to enter the Ordinariate.

"This has been a long process of discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit," said the Rev. Terry Sweeney, rector. He added, "I am grateful for the gift of faith nurtured within the Episcopal Church and for the opportunity for those members who have been called to continue their journey of faith within the Catholic Church to be able to do so without losing the beauty of Anglican traditions."

Two other churches in the Baltimore area, Christ the King Anglican in Towson, and Mount Calvary Episcopal in Baltimore, became Catholic through the Ordinariate in 2012.

The Ordinariate includes 36 communities, 30 priests and more than 1,600 people in the United States and Canada. It was established on January 1, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2009, the Pope issued an apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, permitting the creation of ordinariates, which are similar to dioceses, for former Anglicans who were seeking to enter the Catholic Church in a "corporate manner"; that is, in groups.

While fully Catholic, these communities retain many aspects of their Anglican traditions and heritage. Ordinariates also exist in the United Kingdom and Australia.