Published: June 6, 2011
Sacramento’s first married priest
Former Lutheran minister ordained Saturday
A Protestant convert to Catholicism has become the first married priest in the Diocese of Sacramento. He was among three men ordained by Bishop Jaime Soto on Saturday, June 4, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
Jeff Henry – now Fr. Jeff Henry – is a 51-year-old former Lutheran pastor and a convert to Catholicism. He has been married to his wife, Peg, for 26 years and has one adult daughter.
In a December 2010 letter to priests and religious of the Sacramento diocese, Bishop Soto announced that the Vatican had been given permission from the Vatican to ordain Fr. Henry.
“After prayerful discernment following his reception in the Catholic Church, Mr. Henry petitioned my predecessor, the Most Reverend William Weigand, for ordination to the priesthood,” said Bishop Soto in the 2010 letter. “Bishop Weigand, in accord with the special provisions provided for such by the Holy See, requested permission to ordain Mr. Henry after proper preparation. This decision was granted last month.”
In 2004, Fr. Henry resigned as pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Fairfield to become a Catholic, according to a diocesan news release. He had served as pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran for about 18 months, and before that had been pastor of a Lutheran church in West Virginia.
“During all of his time as a Lutheran minister, however, he had been studying the early Church fathers and for years wrestled with the question of conversion,” said the diocesan news release.
“When you begin quoting popes in your sermons in a Lutheran church, it is time to quit,” Fr. Henry said at the time.
Fr. Henry’s ordination was made possible by a special provision approved by the Vatican in 1980 that allows certain former Protestant clergy to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood.
Currently, Fr. Henry is dean of students at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo. He and his wife are members of St. Joseph Parish in Vacaville.
In the meantime, he is awaiting his first assignment as a Catholic priest by Bishop Soto.
“I want to serve the people of the diocese in whatever way Bishop Jaime Soto sees as necessary and beneficial,” said Fr. Henry in a statement posted on the diocesan website.
Fr. Henry “will join a brotherhood of about 100 married men across the country who are now Catholic priests, according to Mary Gautier, senior research associate of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University,” the Sacramento Bee reported.
"Most are former Episcopalians, but there are a few Lutherans and one Baptist that I know of," Gautier told the Bee.
Also ordained on Saturday were Jose Beltran and Brian Soliven.
“Beltran, 29, is from Jalisco, Mexico, the fifth of seven children,” said a statement on the diocesan website. “After completing theology and philosophy studies at the seminary in the Diocese of Autlan, he applied to be a seminarian for the Diocese of Sacramento. He completed his studies for the priesthood at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park.”
“Soliven, 31, grew up in Elk Grove as a member of Good Shepherd Parish,” said the diocesan statement. “He attended Laguna Creek High School and UC Davis. In subsequent years, he discovered his desire to serve God more. He became a seminarian for the diocese and studied at Mount Angel Seminary and completed studies at the North American College in Rome.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please no anonymous comments. I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously. Having some name or handle helps.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.