Towson Anglican Priest To Be Ordained Catholic This Week

A Towson priest and his Anglican parish will be received into the Catholic Church this weekend

Ed Meeks has been rector at  in Hampton since its founding in 1996. On Saturday, he will be ordained as a Catholic priest at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. On Sunday, his parish will join the church, according to a press release from the U.S. Ordinariate.

Meeks will join the church under the Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, an American ordinate equivalent to a diocese. It was created this year by Pope Benedict XVI to receive former Anglicans who still wish to retain parts of their Anglican practices.

The biggest difference is that married Anglican priests will be allowed to serve as ordained Catholic priests. Meeks, 64, has been married for 41 years to wife Jan, with four children and 13 grandchildren.

According to the release, Meeks graduated St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore in 1969 and later earned a master of science in administration from George Washington University and a master of ministry from Holy Trinity Theological College.

Meeks will be the fourth Baltimore-area priest ordained under the new ordinariate. Nationwide, 30 former Anglican clergymembers are set to be ordained this summer, according to the release.