Man with wife and kid is ‘Maronite’ Catholic priest in US
1 March 2014 5:31 AM IST
A married priest has been ordained by the Maronite Catholic Church in the United States for the first time in nearly a century. His wife and daughter were on hand to support him.
Wissam Akiki was welcomed by hundreds of supporters during a ceremony Thursday night at St. Raymond’s Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis. He called it a ‘historic day’ and said he had been given two great blessings: marriage to his wife of 10 years, Manal, and ‘the dream to serve the Lord thanks and church as a priest.’
Maronites are among more than a dozen Eastern Catholic church groups in the US that accept the authority of the pope but have many of their own rituals and liturgy.
Eastern Catholic churches in the Middle East and Europe ordain married men. But the Vatican banned the practice in America in the 1920s, after Latin-rite bishops complained it was confusing for parishioners.
Wissam Akiki was welcomed by hundreds of supporters during a ceremony Thursday night at St. Raymond’s Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis. He called it a ‘historic day’ and said he had been given two great blessings: marriage to his wife of 10 years, Manal, and ‘the dream to serve the Lord thanks and church as a priest.’
Maronites are among more than a dozen Eastern Catholic church groups in the US that accept the authority of the pope but have many of their own rituals and liturgy.
Eastern Catholic churches in the Middle East and Europe ordain married men. But the Vatican banned the practice in America in the 1920s, after Latin-rite bishops complained it was confusing for parishioners.
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