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Mary Ramerman Ordained into the Catholic Priesthood
Spiritus Christi Church, announced that its pastoral administrator, Mary Ramerman, will be ordained a Catholic priest on Saturday, November 17 at 10 a.m. at the Eastman Theater, 26 Gibbs Street. The event is free and open to the public.
"I first felt called to ministry when I was seven years old and this ordination brings that life-long dream to fulfillment," said Ramerman. "I've made a personal commitment to embrace the priesthood as my vocation, and I look forward to celebrating this sacrament with the Spiritus Christi community through formal ordination vows."
Ramerman, a Roman Catholic, will be ordained by members of the Spiritus Christi community, international representatives from the larger church, and Bishop Peter Hickman. Bishop Hickman is from the Old Catholic tradition, a branch of Catholicism that rebuked the idea of papal infallibility in 1870. The Vatican of the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize the ordination of women into its priesthood.
"Perhaps more than any other entity, organized religion serves as the example for the societal treatment of women," said Ramerman. "Although I know my ordination will not solve gender discriminations in the Catholic Church, I believe it is an important and necessary step towards placing our church on a solid and just foundation."
Ramerman was introduced to Bishop Hickman while she and an international coalition for Women's Ordination was seeking a Roman Catholic Bishop to ordain women. Bishop Hickman has served as Ramerman's spiritual director during her discernment and will continue serving in this capacity after the ordination.
Spiritus Christi Church is a 1500-member Catholic church located in downtown Rochester, New York. In addition to Ramerman, the community is served by associate pastors Rev. James B. Callan and Rev. Enrique Cadena. All three were the pastoral leaders at Corpus Christi Church until 1998 when they were challenged by church authority on three issues of inclusivity: the role of women on the altar; the sharing of the Eucharist with Protestants; and the blessing of unions for gays and lesbians. The following year--1999--they and hundreds of Corpus Christi parishioners formed the new community, Spiritus Christi.
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