Exception to the rule
Los Angeles archdiocese ordains first married priest
May 10, 2007

The 700 people who witnessed the ordination of the Rev. William Lowe to the Catholic priesthood on May 6 had plenty to chatter about afterwards, including the subject of what to call his wife. "Someone suggested ‘Mrs. Father.' She loves that one," Lowe told NBC4-TV. Lowe was an Episcopalian minister in Massachusetts for almost 30 years before retiring and moving to Southern California with his wife of 44 years, Linda. His ordination was made possible by a pastoral provision by Pope John Paul II that allows married Episcopalian priests to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood.

Lowe, the first married priest to be ordained in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, received the Sacrament of Holy Orders from Cardinal Roger Mahony at Blessed Junipero Serra Church in Camarillo.

“This is not a precedent that implies any diminishing of the value of celibacy in priestly ministry, but an instance in which the Church acts in an exceptional way to strengthen and ennoble the gifts brought by its newest members,” said Cardinal Mahony in a prepared statement released to the press.

Lowe's journey began in early 2001, after retiring from the 100-family Episcopal Parish of the Messiah in Newton, Mass. Lowe and his wife, Linda, began visiting various Catholic churches. The liturgical experience was familiar, but he noticed the parish pews overflowing with Catholics, something he had not experienced in the shrinking Episcopal Church. the rest