Parish welcomes new priest and his family
By Patricia May
8/20/2007
Arkansas Catholic

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Arkansas Catholic) - Students returning to St. Joseph School in Fayetteville will have something different this fall: They’ll be joined by the son of the parish’s new pastor.

Father Bradley Barber, 51, is a former Episcopal priest who has since converted and was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church. He is now pastor of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville. Joining him in the church are his wife Jody and the couple’s four children.

While Father Barber’s family situation is still unusual, he definitely has the Church’s approval - all the way from Rome.

Catholic News Service reports that about 80 former Episcopal priests have been ordained since 1980 under a pastoral provision instituted by Pope John Paul II. The Barbers moved to Fayetteville from Corpus Christi, Texas. Father Barber is now the second priest in the state with a wife and kids. Father Alan Rosenau, an associate pastor and hospital chaplain in Hot Springs, was the first. the rest