2nd Week of Advent Church Updates

(Amersfoort) The Old Catholic Bishops of the Netherlands wrote an Advent prayer book for the faithful.The Bishops show reflect on similarities between 1st century Israel and the modern day. With an economic crisis and the coarsening of society, Jesus Christ was born into a society under pressure, but he offered a redemptive response, focusing on God's kingdom. If you would like to purchase the book for 1 euro click here.

(Gronigen) At the Sunday Mass on the first Sunday of Advent,  Victor Peter Scheijde was installed as a pastoral worker at the Old Catholic parish of St. Martin, in Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe and the northeast. Victor Scheijde has completed his academic studies in theology and focuses now on his ecclesiastical studies at the Old Catholic Seminary. The pastoral care of the parish has been entrusted to the pastoral worker since the departure of Pastor Anne Duurkoop Utrecht to the parish in September of this year. Reverend Dr. W.B. van der Velde officiated on behalf of the Bishop.

(Bonn) Henriette Crüwell, pastor of the Old Catholic community of St. Cyprian in Bonn in a radio show on WDR 3 / WDR 5 on "... a journey through the country` s gender - About Justice between local men and church women... The Old Catholics have said that the Zeitgeist is not evil, but this is a place to work out the Holy Spirit and challenge us to understand." To listen to the interview click here

(Pakistan) Pakistan's first and only female Anglican priest Reverend Jane Shaw has warned that persecution of Christians in the country is prompting talented potential future church leaders to settle abroad.
She knew of four young pastors sent overseas for training who decided not to return to Pakistan. She said that while there have been incidents of Christians being attacked and killed, the majority of persecution was more insidious. "It’s largely low-level harassment," she said, "not being short-listed for jobs because you’re a Christian, or, if you do get the job, your colleagues making you so miserable that you have to leave. Also, in some cases Christian businessmen have been told that they’ll only get the most lucrative contracts if they convert to Islam." Other harassment includes Christian children being teased or bullied at school, Christian workers being assigned excessive work­loads, Christians being evicted from accommodation without notice, and influential community members occupying Christians' land with impunity.

The Priory of Prisches in Avesnois, made its entry into the Old Catholic Church

(France) On Prisches, in the rural town of Avesnois, two priests-- Fr. John Lanoy and Fr.Rene Varenne,  founded an Old Catholic Mission community in 1991. Last week , the Archbishop of Utrecht,  Archbishop Joris Vercammen accepted the French Priory of the Good Shepherd. The church numbers about 300 parishioners on a weekly basis.

Father Varenne says, "I see patients. I accompany the dying. I bless houses. I get the wounded people of life." He likes to quote the words of John: "In my Father's house there are many mansions." As to show the diversity of his church.

Archbishop Vercammen preached, "We try to open a church for all these modern problems. The Church is an accommodation, it is the house of God for humans." Also, the time of recognition has come. "We are open to Catholics," said Archbishop Joris Vercammen. "Dissidents perhaps,  not schismatic."

For a video of the event click: Video of the Priory of the Good Shepherd

Religious Life in Old Catholicism/ Feast of Bl. Charles de Foucauld

(Providence) The pre-Old Catholic and Old Catholic church has not accepted many forms of Religious Life in the last three centuries although there have been notable exceptions.

One significant event which affected pre-Old Catholicism was when the Cistercian woman's monastery of Port Royal, France. In 1634, Fr. Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, Abbot of the monastery of St. Cyran became spiritual director for the convent of Port Royal. Fr. Jean, a companion and patron of Fr. Cornelius Jansen promoted Jansenist theology at the convent. This school of thought became widely associated with the Little School of Port Royal, their famous monastery school. In 1660, the school was closed for heresy by King Louis XIV, whose spiritual director was a Jesuit, the opponents to Jansen. In 1662, Abbess Antoine Arnauld and Blaise Pascal published the book, Logic, or the art of thinking: The Logic of Port-Royal.  In 1708, Pope Clement XI abolished the convent and had the nuns forcibly removed and many of the buildings destroyed. Beginning in 1992 in Germany, a small group of men and women had been meeting regularly to pray, share the Eucharist, and encourage one another in the spiritual life. In 1999, this small nucleus developed into a religious community called, St. Severin's priory of the Order of Port Royal. In a letter dated 25 October 2010, Bishop Matthias Ring withdrew Old Catholic affiliation with the Order of Ecumenical Cistercian Abbey of St. Severin.


In the Netherlands, during and after the time of the Protestant Reformation, numerous religious who were persecuted as heretics hid in the Netherlands from Jesuit and Papal authorities. Since the Netherlands was a Protestant nation, the Religious were not recognize and could have been persecuted for practicing Catholicism, however, there was no civil authority in the state to enforce the stricter Ecclesiastical mandates from Rome, which made the Netherlands a lesser of two evils. Cistercian and Cathusian communities hid in the Netherlands but eventually died off since they were not allowed to publicly practice their faith. Catholic Priests in the Netherlands would say Mass in hidden churches and would identify themselves by not wearing wigs, colored clothing, and by wearing the simplest Dutch collar. Although the dress of the Priest in public was secular, its distinctive simplicity allowed people to identify them. The Dutch government tolerated this unspoken compromise. There were also communities of Sisters although they also were not allowed to live a traditional religious life. They were unmarried and wore very simple uniform clothing. They would go out into the community to perform corporal works of mercy and would spend much of the day praying.

The Croatian Old Catholics are in the process of building a traditional monastery for religious life. The building project is in its infancy, but hopefully some day, Old Catholic Monasticism may return to Europe. 

In the present day, there are no officially recognized communities of religious although many Old Catholics in the movement have become involved with the Ecumenical Taize community. Taize services are held in parishes all over Europe and the USA. There is also an Old Catholic Little Brother of Jesus Caritas in Germany, Fr. Michael Edenhofer. The Ecumenical Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus Caritas in the USA are also in the process of admittance into the national ecumenical fraternity, founded by the Roman Catholic Church. Today is the Feast Day of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, the inspiration for the Caritas movement.