UK: Mgr Waller first Bishop of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

“A true shepherd leads from within. The example of the English Saints will provide encouragement and inspiration to the new Bishop”. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, used these words in his homily to encourage the first Bishop of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, David Waller, as he was being ordained. The Ordinariate is a structure established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 with the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus” for groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into communion with the Catholic Church while also maintaining elements of the liturgy and spirituality of the “Church of England”. It now includes about fifty communities throughout the UK. Before being chosen as the first bishop of the Ordinariate, David Waller was an Anglican pastor who then joined the Catholic Church. In addition to Cardinal Fernández, the ordination of the new bishop was presided over by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Primate of England and Wales; by Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada; and by Bishop Anthony Randazzo, Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia. In his homily, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez also explained how the Church is enriched by the Anglican tradition and history brought by the members of the Ordinariate.
Silvia Guzzetti