Anne Tropeano decided she could no longer wait.
Three years ago, inspired by her deep prayer and spiritual formation in the Ignatian tradition, she answered the call she’d been hearing for years to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest — even though that meant breaking the church’s ban on ordination of women and facing excommunication.
Today she goes by “Father Anne,” after her ordination through the Association of Catholic Women Priests. Her vocation has led her not only to pursue priestly ministry, but to advocate for Catholic women who hear the same call. “I have a vocation to priesthood, but since the church is blocking my way to live out priesthood, I have a call within a call — to bring the church into alignment with God’s desire for women’s full participation,” she said.
Father Anne’s call may sometimes have seemed idealistic and unachievable. But she sees a special moment for the church, an opening for real progress.
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