Is Tony Blair Becoming a Catholic?
Sunday, April 2, 2006 3:24 p.m. EDT

Persistent rumors that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a Protestant, may convert to Roman Catholicism got a strong boost when the Times of London revealed Sunday that a Franciscan friar has been conducting Mass for the Blair family at Number 10 Downing St., the prime minister's official residence. Blair, nominally an Anglican, Britain's official religious denomination, has repeatedly denied reports that he plans to convert to Catholicism, his wife's religion. The Times notes that Blair participates in the Mass but does not take Holy Communion. Attending Mass has been a longtime practice of the prime minister. All of his four children share their mother's Catholicism, and the family has been quietly attending Mass not only at at home, but also at their official country residence, Chequers, since 2003, when they had to stop going to Westminster Cathedral and to other Catholic churches because of security concerns. Blair has previously denied he plans to convert to Catholicism, something that not too long ago would have been considered an outrage and a crime against the Queen, who is the official head of the Anglican Church. He says he only attends Catholic services so his family can worship together.

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