(All Saints) Sisters Doing It For Themselves (Anglican House converting en masse)

Sub Tuum ^ | 6/15/2009 | Br. Stephen, O. Cist

[markomalley]

The All Saints Convent chapel at Catonsville.

NLM is reporting this morning that the Anglican All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, Maryland have announced their intention to be received into the Caholic Church on September 3. These are wonderful women and this is wonderful news.

As an Anglican, I made two retreats with the sisters when the men's order I was an associate of held it's chapter at Catonsville and I've visited one or two other times. One of their sisters was assigned to St. Anna's, the small house they maintain in Philadelphia, and I knew her quite well from my days at S. Clement's.

The sisters have been in discernment about their future and the rumor mill has been churning for some time, so this is not unexpected, but it is very good to hear. Their resident chaplain, Rev. Canon Warren Tanghe, announced his submission some time ago. Their previous chaplain was also received four or five years ago. They've been in my prayers and those of many others.

This is a hard decision to make and the announcement notes that two sisters, including the former superior, will be remaining Anglican. Those of us who have already crossed the Tiber should do our best to stay focused on the good news in this rather than taking yet another opportunity to congratulate ourselves and slag on the Anglican Communion. As I said someplace else recently, I don't remember anyone ever deciding to cross the Tiber because someone kicked a lot of sand in his face while he was standing on the bank.

The main convent building at Catonsville.

Founded in England at the famous All Saints Margaret Street, the sisters opened a house in the U.S. at the request of the rector of Baltimore's Mount Calvary, an early bastion of the Anglo-Catholic movement. True to their full name, The All Saints Sisters of the Poor, the sisters lead a mixed life, chanting the office from the Anglican Edition of the Monastic Diurnal and also working in the hospice they founded in downtown Baltimore.

Fr. Edward, the former chaplain with then-superior Mother Catharine Grace, and Canon Offerle of St. Clement's Philadelphia.

I remember being in the convent chapel for a Holy Hour several years ago. At the exposition, Mother Virginia came out from behind the organ console, which is in the visitors area, and knelt on the tile floor. And knelt and kept on kneeling. Mother Virginia could be the mother or grandmother of all the people who were there on retreat. She stayed on her knees on the tile for an hour, so we stayed on our knees on the tile for an hour. These women are serious business.

The back of the convent showing a bit of the grounds.

When I had made my own submission and was beginning to visit religious communities, it was Sr. Elaine who gave me some of the best advice I got on vocation. She said, "Don't sweat this too much. When you find your community, it will fit you like a glove." She was right.

Welcome to this side of the Tiber, sisters. I hope it fits you like a glove.

[EDINVA]

That unique VA statute goes back to the Civil War and obvious splits that arose among the parishes ... it has served Truro, Falls Church and the others quite well under more recent circumstances.

Without getting into the historical religious differences between VA and MD that still resonate in some quarters today, I have to believe this convent in MD is not part or property of the ECUSA diocese. How else could Archbishop O’Brien and other Catholic priests be celebrating a RC Mass in its chapel ? Catholic priests just don’t celebrate Mass in chapels belonging to other faiths, especially if the other faith’s diocese could step in and claim it as their own property.

If the ECUSA or its Baltimore diocese owned the property and the sisters chose to become RC, they would likely transfer to a RC convent. But it sure looks like they’re staying right where they are.

I’m pretty sure the Baltimore RC diocese’s lawyers checked it all out very carefully.

[AnAmericanMother]

I sure hope they did.

But I doubt that the Presiding Bishopess and her attack dog Beers are willing to take on the Catholic Church. Picking on small parishes and threatening individual bishops is more their style.

[newguy357]

As you wrote in a later post, the VA decisions were based solely on a civil war Virginia state statute, unfortunately. I believe that everywhere else in the nation the rulings have gone against the local parishes. I wish for the sake of this convent that it was located in VA.

[EDINVA]

“Chancellor” Beers is so big and brave, he took on my husband, an individual Vestry member (back in the day). Hahahahha, we won !!!! Then ‘kicked the sand from our shoes.’

[AnAmericanMother]

Good job! I'm glad he's gotten slapped upside the head, even if it's probably useless to try to knock any sense into it.

By the time we shook the dust from our sandals, we weren't doing anything in the parish but singing in the choir, we had gotten progressively more disgusted with the whole show and eventually couldn't stand it even just going to choir practice and singing while trying not to pay attention to what was going on down front.

But God & St. Cecilia were merciful, and our new Catholic parish has wonderful music, and I don't even need to add the snarky qualifier "for a Catholic parish". So now we have great music and sound theology too . . . < whew! >