Diocese to Ordain 70-year-old Priest
By: Laura Kellerman
Updated: December 22, 2008
A former Episcopalian minister will be the first married man to be ordained a priest for the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo.Waldo Emerson "Knick' Knickerbocker, 70, and his wife Sandie converted to Catholicism 15 years ago. Knickerbocker requested to become a Catholic priest three years ago,.
In 1980 Pope John Paul II made such ordinations possible, under the Pastoral Provision.
In a press release, the Diocese of San Angelo explained the nature of the provision.
The decision to allow married Episcopalian clergy to serve as priests in the Roman Catholic Church respects not only the decision of their conscience that requires them to profess a fully Catholic faith in the Catholic Church but also their call to ministry, accepted in good faith, in their tradition that permitted a married priesthood. In providing this exception to individual married clergymen, the Holy Father and the Bishops of the United States wanted to make sure that everyone understood that celibacy remains the normal tradition for priests in the Western Church.Knickerbocker will be ordained by Bishop Michael Pfeifer on Jan. 28 at St. Theresa Church in Junction. He will fulfill duties there and at Sacred Heart in Menard.
Related links:
