There are fewer than 300 practicing Old Catholics in Italy, according to Fritz-René Müller, the Switzerland-based bishop who ordained her. But for Italians unaccustomed to seeing women in priestly garb, Mother Vittoria’s ordination “had a great echo; it was a small earthquake,” he said.
Read the story in the New York Times here.
Hmmmmm. . . not sure what to make of the silver shoes.
On a liturgical note, I wonder if they used the Tridentine rite for ordination. I think the Old Catholics use the Tridentine Mass in the vernacular (and according to the American Old Catholic Church website, the Knott Missal seems to be the most common translation of it in use in the US).
Jack,
There are no Old Catholics in communion with the Union of Utrecht in the United States. The European Old Catholic Churches (arranged in national conferences of bishops) do allow the Missal of the Council of Trent, but it is generally not used: all of the churches have very fine modern liturgical books, partially based on the Missal of Paul VI, partially on other sources such as the American Book of Common Prayer.
The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht are in relationships of partial or full communion with the Church of England, the Episcopal Church USA, the Philippine Independent Church (Iglesia Filipina Independiente) and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden. Some of the individual conferences of Old Catholic Bishops may have other agreements as well.
The article really doesn’t tell us more than the bare fact that she is ordained (although it was interesting to see how many women lead other Christian communities in Italy). I’d have liked to know something more about her theological outlook and expectations for her future ministry. In such a small Church, she must be doing something else to earn her bread, and this also would have been interesting to know. Of course this goes past the scope of the article.
As does the question about shoes. FC, those look to me like Eccos. They were showing a flat casual shoe this summer in gold and silver, which looked like this. Are you fond of shoes? Eccos are comfortable, and not too terribly expensive, especially if you shop at the outlet stores. If “what to make” of the shoe is a question about economic level, it’s not poor; I’d say middle class.
My question had more to do with liturgical sensibilities. Myself, I always try to wear black (though maybe gold would work for Easter).
Shoes? What shoes? I couldn’t get past the hair!
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