BY LAURA LEGERE
May 10, 2012
A Scranton Roman Catholic priest who was previously an ordained Episcopalian has been named the first priest in a new national Catholic jurisdiction that incorporates elements of the Anglican faith.
The Rev. Eric Bergman was incardinated on Tuesday into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a jurisdiction of U.S. Catholics established by the Pope at the start of the year that welcomes Anglicans and some of their traditions into the Catholic Church.
The U.S. ordinariate is just the second such group established by the pope. The first, for England and Wales, was created in 2011.
"This is a significant moment in the young history of the ordinariate," Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, the Houston, Texas-based ordinary of the jurisdiction, said in a statement Wednesday.
Father Bergman became the first priest of 60 preparing to join the ordinariate, about 30 of whom are expected to be ordained in the next few months. Unlike most of those current or former Anglican priests, Father Bergman was already ordained a Catholic priest in 2007...
Read the whole story in the Scranton Times Tribune
Hat tip to Mary Ann Mueller
The new U.S. ordinariate for Anglican groups entering the Catholic Church achieved a milestone on May 8, 2012 when Reverend Eric Bergman of Scranton, PA became its first priest. The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict XVI on January 1 in response to repeated requests by Anglican groups and clergy who were seeking to become Catholic. The ordinariate is similar to a diocese, though national in scope.
Fr. Bergman, 41, is a former Episcopal priest who was ordained a Catholic priest five years ago for the Diocese of Scranton. Since that time, he has been chaplain to the 150-member St. Thomas More Anglican Use Society.
The group will become St. Thomas More Parish at St. Joseph Church and will be located at the former St. Joseph property in Scranton's Providence neighborhood starting in late August. The ordinariate purchased the property from the Diocese of Scranton for $254,000, with $200,000 of that amount raised by the St. Thomas More community during a three-week period this spring.
"This is a significant moment in the young history of the ordinariate. I am grateful to Bishop Joseph Bambera and to the Diocese of Scranton for their support," said Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, the Ordinary. "The incardination of Fr. Bergman, and the reception of several Anglican communities across the United States and Canada over the past few months, are tangible signs of Christ at work in this new undertaking."
Approximately 60 current or former Anglican priests are preparing to be ordained Catholic priests for the ordinariate, with 30 ordinations expected in the next few months. Ordinariate parishes will be fully Catholic while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage and traditions, including liturgical traditions.
Fr. Bergman noted, "I am particularly grateful to Bishop Bambera, and to Msgr. William Feldcamp, pastor of St. Paul's Parish and St. Clare's Church, who has been instrumental in the maintenance of our ministry over the years. St. Thomas More has thrived, and we look forward to our future as an ordinariate parish."
Underscoring the historic nature of this announcement, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, commented, "I was pleased to be able to cooperate with Monsignor Steenson in order to help facilitate Father Bergman's incardination process. For the past five years, Father Bergman has faithfully supported the Diocese of Scranton. We are grateful for his service and wish him continued blessings in his ministry."
Fr. Bergman, a native of Bethlehem, PA, graduated from James Madison University before obtaining a Master of Divinity degree from Yale. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1997, and served in Scranton as curate at St. Luke's Episcopal Church and as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd. He became Catholic in 2005 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2007. In addition to serving as chaplain to the Anglican Use Society, he has been chaplain at Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, PA and at Mercy Hospital in Scranton. He and his wife, Kristina, have seven children ages 6 months to 10 years.
St. Joseph was established as a Lithuanian-language parish in 1895 and is a former home of Venerable Maria Kaupas, foundress of the Sisters of St. Casimir, who was a housekeeper at the parish in the late 19th century. A miracle attributed to her intercession is before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that, if approved, will lead to her beatification. The parish property includes a church, parish hall, rectory, convent, school, parking lot and four garages.
from the web site of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter
Those of you who assisted at Mass on Sunday, February 19th will remember that I called a surprise meeting that day for members and friends of the St. Thomas More Society. I announced then that Bishop Joseph Bambera had given me permission to poll our members and benefactors to determine how much money we might be able to raise for the purchase of a permanent home from which to conduct our ministry. Specifically he had asked me to get back to him in a couple of weeks to indicate whether we as a community could come up with the cash to purchase St. Joseph Church in the Providence section of the city of Scranton. Your response to my appeal was quick and generous, for which I offer my most heartfelt gratitude. By February 29th we had about $170,000 on hand, with thousands more pledged toward the purchase, a happy circumstance that I related to the Vicar General of the Diocese of Scranton, Fr. Brian Clarke. Within days I learned we would be able to purchase the entire St. Joseph Church campus, which includes the church (with the parish hall beneath it), the rectory (six bedrooms and five baths), four garages, 36 parking spaces, a convent vacated by the Sisters of Mercy on January 9th, and St. Joseph School (closed in 1984 but used by the parish for various ministries until July of last year). Our hope is to close on the property the third or fourth week of April and complete the necessary renovations over the summer, the goal being to be worshiping in our new setting and occupying our new rectory by the beginning of the school year.
For the property we must pay $254,000, though Fr. Cyril Edwards, the Pastor of Mary, Mother of God parish, fr rom which we will acquire the property, ha as kindly agreed to give us some time to come up with the full amount. In addition to the purchase price, we will have to sp pend a significant amount restoring the ch hurch to conform to our liturgical practices and disciplines. Plus, there will be some renovation work necessary for the other buildings on the campus. Therefore, we will shortly conduct a formal capital campaign, for which you should expect to receive a mailing, by which we will raise the necessary funds. How much we raise will determine what we are able to do over the coming summer months, and we will be sure to welcome pledges toward work that can be kicked down the road a bit, for those of you who do not have money immediately on hand. Thus, please begin to pray about what you may be able to donate, in anticipation of receiving a formal appeal for help with acquisition of the property and restoration of it...
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