About Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania:
For those formerly in the Episcopal Church, this is home to converts to Catholicism.. In 2004, an Anglican clergyman, Fr. Eric Bergman, approached Bishop Joseph Martino to discuss the possibility of founding a Pastoral Provision parish. (Fr. Bergman had discerned a call to be reconciled to the Catholic Church, and half of his parishioners at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd had approached him about coming with him.)
So it was that the St. Thomas More Society was founded in 2005, with Fr. Bergman (by that time a layman) as its Executive Director, under the Pastoral oversight of Msgr. William Feldcamp at nearby St. Clare Church. The newly formed congregation underwent nine months of catechesis, and were received into the Catholic Church on the eve of All Saints, October 31, 2005. For two years, several priests celebrated the specially approved “Anglican Use” liturgy for the congregation as Fr. Bergman pursued studies for the Catholic Priesthood, culminating in his ordination in 2007.
With Fr. Bergman now its Chaplain, the St. Thomas More Society increasingly functioned as a freestanding congregation, though still under the watchful eye of Msgr. Feldcamp. The congregation underwent significant growth, both in former Anglicans reconciled to the Catholic Church, and in others of a variety of backgrounds who found themselves attracted to our worship and ministries. For several years the congregation led a nomadic existence, worshiping in rented Catholic churches at odd times of day.
Then, in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI issued a historic Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus (“groups of Anglicans”), establishing a new worldwide structure for Anglican clergy and congregations to be reconciled to the Catholic Church, worshiping in their beloved liturgical and musical traditions and under their own leadership. Nationwide dioceses called “Ordinariates” were erected in Great Britain, Australia, and North America, each encompassing former Anglican parishes now reconciled to the Catholic Church, overseen by an Ordinary or Bishop of the Pope’s choosing.
On May 8, 2012, The St. Thomas More Society became St. Thomas More Catholic Church, the first Parish of the U.S. Ordinariate, with Fr. Bergman as its first Priest. Finally ending their nomadic existence, on the same day they purchased the St. Joseph’s Church property in the Providence neighborhood of Scranton. They are continually renovating the campus, making it ever more suitable to their worship and ministries.
Finding Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania:
Address: 116 Theodore Street | Scranton, PA 18508
Tel: +1 570-343-0634
email: contact@stmscranton.org
Click here for the official website of Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
