Jennifer O’Malley, a graduate of St. Mary Springs Academy High School
and Marian University, will be ordained as a Catholic priest on
Saturday, Oct. 6.The ceremony will be held at Westwood United Church of Christ in Los Angeles, Calif.
O’Malley will be the first woman priest to serve in the Los Angeles/Orange County area as part of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) movement.
O’Malley earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University, Chicago, and had two years of sacramental preparation. She worked in pastoral ministry for seven years and also led youth service learning trips in Mexico and the United States.
“Since my childhood, I knew I had a vocation to serve as a minister. As I matured I did not know how I could do this because I wanted to remain Catholic,” O’Malley said.
She said a door opened for her when she discovered RCWP. Although the movement is not recognized by Rome, the organization prepares and ordains women in “Apostolic Succession,” and supports women who believe and demonstrate they are called to a priestly ministry rooted in justice and faith to the Gospel.
“Apostolic Succession” means that Bishops who can trace their ordination back to the original apostles of Christ have ordained people ordained in this movement.
The movement within the church began in Germany with the ordination of seven women on the Danube River in 2002 by Roman Catholic Bishops and in 2003 two of the “Danube 7” were ordained bishops.
Today there are approximately 140 women in the world and more than 100 of these are located in the United States.
RCWP rejects Canon law that does not allow women to be ordained priests today.
Many historians and theologians can provide evidence that women were ordained deacons, priests and bishops in the early church, according to a press release.
In addition, in 1970, because of the Soviet Bloc, a Czech Bishop ordained women to serve in the women’s prisons where men could not go.
O’Malley is currently a program administrator for the secondary special education programs at Compton Unified School District.
She previously worked as a coordinator of youth ministry at a parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and was a program director for a national Catholic service learning program.
She is involved in ministry with the gay and lesbian community.
She lives in Long Beach, Calif., with her partner, Liz Carlin, of 18 years.