The appointment of Fr David Waller as the first Bishop Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham represents not only a major new chapter in the life of the Ordinariate, but a rare landmark moment for the Church throughout the Anglosphere: the elevation of a former Anglican clergyman to the episcopate.
Well into its second decade, the Ordinariate continues to thrive and intrigue in equal measure. As a former Anglican, I chose not to follow that path upon joining the Catholic Church. And by the time I attended my first Ordinariate Mass, I had developed a strong preference for the Old Rite, making the experience reminiscent of a Traditional Mass in Old English with an Anglican twist. For a cradle Catholic brought up exclusively in the New Rite, the sight and sound of the priest facing ad orientem whilst speaking words from the Book of Common Prayer might seem rather peculiar.
