What is an Ordinariate?
The simple answer is that it's a specific type of jurisdiction, like a diocese, within the Catholic Church. To explain that better is a little complex, so please bear with us.
The term, "Ordinariate", refers to a type of jurisdiction within the Church, specifically about its governance. A geographic diocese, like Perth or Bunbury, has a bishop in charge, but his official legal title is that he is the "Ordinary" of the diocese, that is, he orders the jurisdiction, or we might say colloquially, he's "in charge of" his diocese. Like a diocese, therefore, an ordinariate has an Ordinary in charge of it.
The main difference for an Ordinariate is that sometimes a man who is not ordained a bishop, but who is only ordained a priest, can be made an ordinary, because the powers of the jurisdiction don't necessarily require episcopal orders, but rely on the mandate of the Pope. The appointed priest has the same juridical powers as a diocesan bishop, but since he has not been ordained to the episcopate, he can't himself ordain men to the priesthood, or consecrate the Oil of Chrism, he delegates this to a man who is ordained a bishop.
One example of an ordinariate in Australia is the Military Ordinariate, which is ruled over by a bishop, its Ordinary, who has the care of souls for all the Catholic personnel in the Australian Defence Force.
The term, "Ordinariate", refers to a type of jurisdiction within the Church, specifically about its governance. A geographic diocese, like Perth or Bunbury, has a bishop in charge, but his official legal title is that he is the "Ordinary" of the diocese, that is, he orders the jurisdiction, or we might say colloquially, he's "in charge of" his diocese. Like a diocese, therefore, an ordinariate has an Ordinary in charge of it.
The main difference for an Ordinariate is that sometimes a man who is not ordained a bishop, but who is only ordained a priest, can be made an ordinary, because the powers of the jurisdiction don't necessarily require episcopal orders, but rely on the mandate of the Pope. The appointed priest has the same juridical powers as a diocesan bishop, but since he has not been ordained to the episcopate, he can't himself ordain men to the priesthood, or consecrate the Oil of Chrism, he delegates this to a man who is ordained a bishop.
One example of an ordinariate in Australia is the Military Ordinariate, which is ruled over by a bishop, its Ordinary, who has the care of souls for all the Catholic personnel in the Australian Defence Force.
What is the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross?
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (OLSC) is an Australia-wide jurisdiction within the Catholic Church. It was established in 2012. The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is headed by Monsignor Carl Reid P.A..
The Personal Ordinariate is equivalent to a geographical diocese, such as Perth, but membership in it is based on a personal decision to join it by its individual canonical members. So no matter where the canonical member resides, they are not canonically subject to the local bishop, but rather to the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate.
The Ordinariate is termed, "Personal", therefore, because of that choice for membership, and also because it only exists where the canonical members are, not where the borders of a certain territory are.
As well as communities throughout Australia, we also have communities in Japan, Guam, and communities in formation in the Philippines and Indonesia.
While we cooperate intimately with local Catholic churches and clergy in Western Australia, we are, canonically independent of the Archdiocese of Perth, Bunbury, Geraldton and Broome.
In Perth, the Personal Ordinariate's Community of Saints Ninian & Chad is led by Ordinary Emeritus Monsignor Harry Entwistle P.A.. Our evangelical approach is based on the apostle Saint Philip's response to Nathaniel to "Come and See!"
The Personal Ordinariate is equivalent to a geographical diocese, such as Perth, but membership in it is based on a personal decision to join it by its individual canonical members. So no matter where the canonical member resides, they are not canonically subject to the local bishop, but rather to the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate.
The Ordinariate is termed, "Personal", therefore, because of that choice for membership, and also because it only exists where the canonical members are, not where the borders of a certain territory are.
As well as communities throughout Australia, we also have communities in Japan, Guam, and communities in formation in the Philippines and Indonesia.
While we cooperate intimately with local Catholic churches and clergy in Western Australia, we are, canonically independent of the Archdiocese of Perth, Bunbury, Geraldton and Broome.
In Perth, the Personal Ordinariate's Community of Saints Ninian & Chad is led by Ordinary Emeritus Monsignor Harry Entwistle P.A.. Our evangelical approach is based on the apostle Saint Philip's response to Nathaniel to "Come and See!"
Why were the Personal Ordinariates created?
The Personal Ordinariates were established by Pope Benedict XVI primarily to preserve as a gift for the whole Catholic Church the particular English Patrimony of former Anglicans, Methodists, and others, who have been received into full Catholic unity. Pope Francis gave us our own Missal in 2015. We are strongly committed to the mission of Church unity, and to realised ecumenism - that is the realisation of full Catholic communion at the end of the path of dialogue between Christians. Our standard of Faith is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
What are the qualifications for canonical membership of the Personal Ordinariate?
"Firstly, it is important to remember that all Catholics are welcome to attend and participate in the Ordinariate's Liturgies and pastoral works. All Catholics, under the usual conditions, may receive Holy Communion, and fulfil their Sunday Obligation by attending the Ordinariate Mass. All Catholics may become members of and participate in the life of an Ordinariate parish or community.
To elect to become a canonical members of the Personal Ordinariate, however, brings certain rights and obligations, and changes the canonical status of the member. Canonical members of the Personal Ordinariates are immediately subject to the Holy See and are governed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Pope Francis clarified the position of the Personal Ordinariates in this regard, in his Motu Proprio, Fidem Servare, (14th February 2022).
The qualifications for membership are found in a document called The Complementary Norms of the Apostolic Constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus" of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (2019) they are found in Article 5 and they are the following:
"5. §1. The lay faithful originally of the Anglican tradition who wish to belong to the Ordinariate, after having made their Profession of Faith and received the Sacraments of Initiation, with due regard for Canon 845, are to be entered in the apposite register of the Ordinariate. Those who have received all of the Sacraments of Initiation outside the Ordinariate are not ordinarily eligible for membership, unless they are members of a family belonging to the Ordinariate."
So a person who was previously received, or who is being received, into the Church from Anglicanism or Methodism is entitled to membership.
This article also mentions that if one member of a family is a member of the Personal Ordinariate, all immediate family members are also entitled to canonical membership. So if a spouse or a parent or a child becomes a member then you are also entitled to canonical membership.
"5. §2. A person who has been baptised in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the Sacraments of Initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or both."
So a person who has not yet made their First Holy Communion, or received the Sacrament of Confirmation, may receive them in the Ordinariate, and thus become entitled to membership.
"§3. A person, who has been validly baptised in another Ecclesial Community outside of the Catholic Church, and subsequently desires to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church through the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate upon reception into full communion and conferral of the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. Also, this applies to the case of those not being validly baptised that have come to the faith through the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate and therefore receive in it all of the sacraments of initiation."
This is a broad category, but it means that anyone who is not Catholic can become Catholic through the Ordinariate and is subsequently entitled to membership of it.
To elect to become a canonical members of the Personal Ordinariate, however, brings certain rights and obligations, and changes the canonical status of the member. Canonical members of the Personal Ordinariates are immediately subject to the Holy See and are governed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Pope Francis clarified the position of the Personal Ordinariates in this regard, in his Motu Proprio, Fidem Servare, (14th February 2022).
The qualifications for membership are found in a document called The Complementary Norms of the Apostolic Constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus" of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (2019) they are found in Article 5 and they are the following:
"5. §1. The lay faithful originally of the Anglican tradition who wish to belong to the Ordinariate, after having made their Profession of Faith and received the Sacraments of Initiation, with due regard for Canon 845, are to be entered in the apposite register of the Ordinariate. Those who have received all of the Sacraments of Initiation outside the Ordinariate are not ordinarily eligible for membership, unless they are members of a family belonging to the Ordinariate."
So a person who was previously received, or who is being received, into the Church from Anglicanism or Methodism is entitled to membership.
This article also mentions that if one member of a family is a member of the Personal Ordinariate, all immediate family members are also entitled to canonical membership. So if a spouse or a parent or a child becomes a member then you are also entitled to canonical membership.
"5. §2. A person who has been baptised in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the Sacraments of Initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or the Sacrament of the Eucharist or both."
So a person who has not yet made their First Holy Communion, or received the Sacrament of Confirmation, may receive them in the Ordinariate, and thus become entitled to membership.
"§3. A person, who has been validly baptised in another Ecclesial Community outside of the Catholic Church, and subsequently desires to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church through the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the Ordinariate upon reception into full communion and conferral of the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. Also, this applies to the case of those not being validly baptised that have come to the faith through the evangelising mission of the Ordinariate and therefore receive in it all of the sacraments of initiation."
This is a broad category, but it means that anyone who is not Catholic can become Catholic through the Ordinariate and is subsequently entitled to membership of it.
Are there other Personal Ordinariates?
Yes, there are also Personal Ordinariates. The first is in the United Kingdom, known as The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the second is in North America, known as The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.