To facilitate the widest possible participation of the faithful and a common celebration of the Solemnity of Title, the Chair of St Peter the Apostle is transferred from Saturday, 22 February, to this Sunday (otherwise the date of Quinquagesima), per provisions of Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar §58 and according to Divine Worship’s Table of Precedence.
From the very beginning, this is the fervent prayer of the Church. It expresses our longing for that intimate sense of God’s loving presence and action in our lives, an abiding with God who sanctifies us and gives us life. But, to paraphrase the first disciples at Ephesus, who is this Holy Spirit whose coming is so long desired (cf. Acts 19:2)? Reflecting on the first ten years of our ecclesial life in the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, we can answer the question in this way: the Holy Spirit brought our Ordinariate into being! At the very outset of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, Pope Benedict XVI notes that it is the Holy Spirit who has prompted groups of Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church.
This year, the Ordinariate is celebrating the 10th anniversary of our founding document, the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus. In it, Pope Benedict XVI articulated a bold ecumenical vision and created the Ordinariate, a new missionary venture contributing to the vitality of the Catholic Church. This is therefore a Jubilee year, a diocesan-wide celebration in which we give thanks to God by proclaiming this year of the Lord’s favor.