The Laying on of Hands on Marianne Therese Smyth by Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan
Pastor Judy Beaumont and I were happy to attend this wonderful ordination of four women priests and two women deacons in Cleveland on Saturday 5/24/14. The church was packed and joy,happiness and expectation filled the air.
This was an especially happy occasion for me as my cousin Marianne Therese Smyth was one of the newly ordained priests. It was my joy to present her to the Bishop and the community along with our cousin, Jackie Weinmann Marion who also participated in the Procession and the ceremony, helping to vest Marianne and presenting her with a chalice and paten from the family.
Marianne and Judy Lee
Jackie Weinmann Marion bringing up the Chalice and Paten
Marianne,a mother of two and a grandmother of four, is theologically and experientially prepared for the priesthood. She was a third order Carmelite for five years, undertook much advanced study and spent her professional life teaching and counseling special education students and later was devoted to the care of her elderly and much beloved mother, Betty whose spirit was very much with us. She is presently preparing herself for ministry with the dying and their families by taking an eleventh month course and practicum called “Companioning the Dying”. She feels blessed by this ministry especially when called in to accompany someone at the eleventh hour. Marianne has conveyed that she is trying to live her life as a “conscious sacrament” and that she feels called to celebrate sacred connectedness and God’s boundless love for everyone. She will also be celebrating with the Living Waters Inclusive Catholic Community with RCWP Bishop Andrea Johnson and Priest Gloria Carpeneto and others in Catonsville, Maryland.
Left to right: Marianne T. Smyth, Irene C. Scaramazza and Mary Collingwood, Three Newly Ordained Priests
Each one of the women ordained is a special and courageous woman. We are truly blessed to have them with us in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.
Below Front: Mary Bergan Blanchard, Irene Scaramazza, Priests, Susan Guzik and Barbara Billey, Deacons, Bishop Bridget Mary,and Mary Collingwood and Marianne Therese Smyth, Priests. Rear: Other ARCWP Priests Attending
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