The Church of the Holy Paraclete was founded by the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus Caritas. The parish was established by bishops of the North American Old Catholic Church (NAOCC) in August of 2009. The first Mass was held on 13 September 2009 with a small handful of parishioners. Since September of 2009, the parish has blossomed into a vibrant Old Catholic community.
On 11 October 2009, Br. Jakob-Lazarus, LBJC was ordained a priest and was assigned as the first pastor of the parish. In December of 2009, the Little Brothers and Sisters handed the parish over to a parish council to make communal decisions for the parish. The parish council is open for anyone who wishes to take a more active role in parish leadership.
The Church of the Holy Paraclete declared itself autonomous on 17 May 2010 to assure that the Church of the Holy Paraclete is run by the parishioners and is protected as its own non-profit organization.
In December of 2010, the church aquired its own building (rough sketch is pictured above) which is in the process of being renovated and will be the permanent home for the Church of the Holy Paraclete in early spring of 2011.
Old Catholicism originated when various Catholic churches separated from Roman Catholicism over the issue of Papal authority. The initial separation from Rome occurred in Holland in 1724 which formed the first Old Catholic Church. The churches of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland became part of the Union of Utrecht after Vatican I (1871) over the Dogma of Papal Infallibility. In the early 1900's the movement included North America, thus forming different catholic groups in America. While the Independent Catholic churches in America are not yet part of the Union of Utrecht, we are working towards unity.
Independent Catholicism in America was influenced by the great spiritual and transcendental movements of the 19th century, and was infused with greater vigor by the liberation of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil.
The Church of the Holy Paraclete carries forward catholic Christianity's perpetual process of renewal. Egalitarian, sacramental, and service-oriented in nature, the movement maintains focus and continues the Church's ministry of episcopal and historic lineage through an apostolic succession of bishops, which reaches directly back to the apostles of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Church of the Holy Paraclete seeks to bring historical connectivity, creativity, relevance, joy, and an all-embracing awareness to spiritual practice, as a path to healing our hearts and finding balance and wholeness.
Our Church acts to fully include all Christians and to respect all peoples. The movement helps to heal the world by promoting justice, freedom, responsibility, caring for all life and for the Earth that sustains our life.
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