A Mission of Evangelisation...
The ideal way to learn about us is to visit one of our communities—come and see—but of course you might not be near to one. This website, then, may be the most practical way for you to learn more about us at the moment. The Deanery is working towards the establishment of the Ordinariate in every major city in Canada in the coming years. To do that we need your prayers and support. Pray for us, and if you wish, please donate to this exciting missionary effort.
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Becoming Catholic
Is God calling you home to the Catholic Church? If you are an Anglican parish or group interested in joining the Ordinariate corporately, your Rector or priest, or minister needs to begin the process by identifying himself to Fr. Robert-Charles Bengry, the Dean of the St. John the Baptist Deanery: fr.robert.bengry@ordinariate.net.
If you’re an Anglican clergyman who believes he may well have a vocation to the Catholic Priesthood, things are indeed more complicated. Anglicanorum coetibus envisions an Anglican clergyman entering into full communion along with his people which of course is not often possible. Again, the first step is to contact our Dean in order to explore options.
If you are an individual, go to your nearest Ordinariate community and speak with the Priest there, or if there isn’t a community near to you, contact the Executive Assistant to the Dean, Mrs. Susan Travis: office@ordinariate.ca.
Becoming Catholic might seem confusing and difficult, but it need not be. Contact us — so many of us have made the same journey.
Joining a Parish
Most of our communities in Canada aren’t actually parishes (they’re yet too small) but you can help by joining and worshipping with us! One doesn’t have to be an Ordinariate member to join an Ordinariate congregation—any Catholic can be a part of a parish as can converts to the faith. What’s more is that we’d love to have you join us.
Joining the Ordinariate
The Ordinariate’s founding document, Anglicanorum coetibus and the Complementary Norms, give direction regarding membership in the Ordinariate.
Members of the Ordinariate are Roman Catholics who have come from Anglican and other ecclesial communities and are now in the full communion of the Church, Catholics who have completed their Sacraments of Initiation (or whose family member has completed the Sacraments of Initiation) in one of our parishes or communities, or those who have been drawn to the Church through the evangelising mission of our Diocese, and their families.
No one is automatically a member of the Ordinariate, those eligible for membership must submit a completed and signed Membership Registration Form to their local Ordinariate Priest. Your signature on the form is the canonical act by which you manifest your desire to enter the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.
Most people who desire to join the Ordinariate do so in the context of an Ordinariate parish or parochial community through the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation. If you are currently worshipping in an Ordinariate parish or are preparing to be received into the Church in an Ordinariate parish or community, your Pastor or local community leader must notify the Chancery and submit proof of your Sacraments for your membership to be complete.
If you do not live near an Ordinariate parish or parochial community, you may still become a member of the Ordinariate. You may wish to join your local Catholic Church’s RCIA program to be received into the Church. Once you have received your Sacraments, you may use the Membership Registration Form to petition for membership in the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. This will require you to provide documents verifying your reception of the Sacraments. Individuals or families should mail a Membership Registration Form directly to the Deanery for consideration. The mailing address is provided on the form. The form will be made available on this website soon.
The Venerable English Mass
Catholic worship through the Personal Ordinariates is offered to the praise of the Triune God. Day by day, through the recitation of the Divine Office (the Commonwealth Edition or the North American Edition), and the celebration of the Holy Mass (Ordinariate Form), we carry out our duty and our joyful obligation to offer up our prayers and praises before the throne of grace so that we might be drawn into ever deeper union with God.
Our worship, steeped in the traditional riches of the Anglican liturgical and musical heritage, is rich with traditional ceremonial and sacral language of the Book of Common Prayer.
Our Mass, sometimes referred to as the ‘Anglican Use’, but more correctly the ‘Ordinariate Form’ is a traditional English Mass where God is worshipped in the beauty of holiness. Our communities tend to be young, are family friendly, and are welcoming.
Holy Days of Obligation
The Holy Days of Obligation in the Saint John the Baptist Deanery of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter are:
• every Sunday of the Year
• the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
(25 December, fulfilled at any of the four Christmas Masses: Vigil, Midnight, Dawn, or Day)
• Mary, the Mother of God (1 January);
• Ascension Day (Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter);
• the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August); and
• All Saints’ Day (1st November).
Whenever these days fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.
Special days in the life of the Deanery are, as follows:
• 1 January (Anniversary of the Erection of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, 2012);
• 2 February (Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Revd Steven Lopes, first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter, 2016);
• 14 February (Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Walsingham, 2004);
• 22 February (Chair of St Peter, Apostle, Solemnity of Title of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter);
• 19 March (St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron of Canada);
• 27 May (St Augustine of Canterbury, Anniversary of the Decree of Promulgation of Divine Worship: The Missal, 2015);
• 24 September (Our Lady of Walsingham, Patronal Feast of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter);
• 4 November (Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, 2009); and
• 7 December (Anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Deanery, 2012).
There are numerous other celebrations that may not be familiar to you such as:
Mothering Sunday and Remembrance Sunday and we use some names for feasts that you may not have heard of before. For example Whitsunday = Pentecost Sunday.
