On The Naming Of Anglican Catholic Parishes

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  One thing we've learned from the Anglican Use experiment is that calling an Anglican Use parish simply a "Catholic Church," helps to make the parish grow.  Case in point, "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" in San Antonio Texas is an Anglican Use parish.  In every sense it is fully high-church Anglican or "Anglo-Catholic," yet it is in full communion with the pope and the Roman Catholic Church.  You'll notice that nowhere is the word "Anglican" mentioned in the official name.  When mentioned at all, it is simply a subtitle - "Anglican Use of the Roman Rite."  That's because the word "Anglican" simply describes what type of Catholic Church it is.  Regardless of the type, it is still a "Catholic Church."  That's important.  Most Roman Catholic Churches these days no longer specify the word "Roman" in their parish signs either.  They simply say "St. Joseph Catholic Church" usually with the subtitle "Diocese of ______" (fill in the blank).  In the case of an Anglican Catholic parish, it might be prudent to simply list the official name as "St. _____ Catholic Church" (fill in the blank) with the subtitle "Anglican Ordinariate of the United States."  This both specifies what type of Catholic Church it is, and it plainly lets people know it is a Catholic Church.

Few things will help the Anglican Catholic parishes grow faster than simply being listed as "Catholic" churches, with "Anglican Ordinariate" as the subtitle.  Anglicans will know exactly what that is, while general Catholics will be more likely to visit and possibly make it their parish home.  This is what happened to "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" as she drew in both Anglicans and Catholics in the San Antonio area, as well as people from other Christian traditions, and some with no religious background at all.  It is now a full sized parish with it's own full sized academy.  Here's their website.