{"id":5360,"date":"2010-12-09T10:10:08","date_gmt":"2010-12-09T10:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2010\/12\/great-falls-billings-welcomes-its-first-married-priest.html"},"modified":"2010-12-09T10:10:08","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T10:10:08","slug":"great-falls-billings-welcomes-its-first-married-priest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2010\/12\/great-falls-billings-welcomes-its-first-married-priest.html","title":{"rendered":"Great Falls-Billings welcomes its first married priest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"4d0077927c050.image.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>
\nAnother married Episcopalian is swimming the Tiber — and is about to be ordained a priest.
\nFrom the Billings Gazette: <\/a><\/p>\n

\nWhen the Rev. Bart Stevens is ordained a Catholic priest in Billings on Thursday, he will share the moment with friends and family — including his wife and five children.<\/p>\n

Stevens, 35, joins a small fraternity of married Roman Catholic priests. Since 1980, slightly more than 100 former Episcopal priests in the United States have been ordained priests in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

He is the first in the Great Falls-Billings Diocese. And his presence has sparked talk around town, as his wife, Becky, found out not long ago at a local grocery store.<\/p>\n

“She’s in the checkout line and these people are talking about me,” Stevens said, sitting in his office in a house next to Holy Rosary Church. “One says ‘Did you hear about the married priest in the Catholic church?’ ”<\/p>\n

The other person corrected the first one, suggesting it must be an Episcopal priest. The two went back and forth until Becky Stevens broke into their conversation.<\/p>\n

“Becky’s like, ‘I think you’re talking about my husband,’ ” Stevens said, smiling. “It takes people a while to wrap their head around it.”<\/p>\n

He will be ordained at St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral by Bishop Michael Warfel. Priests from throughout the diocese are expected to attend the ceremony.<\/p>\n

So will Becky and their children, three girls and two boys ranging in age from 9 years to 4 months.<\/p>\n

For Stevens, who will serve three parishes in Billings, his ordination is the completion of a journey that has brought him to the faith he was meant to embrace. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.<\/a> And welcome, Fr. Bart! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another married Episcopalian is swimming the Tiber — and is about to be ordained a priest. From the Billings Gazette: When the Rev. Bart Stevens is ordained a Catholic priest in Billings on Thursday, he will share the moment with friends and family — including his wife and five children. Stevens, 35, joins a small…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\nGreat Falls-Billings welcomes its first married priest - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2010\/12\/great-falls-billings-welcomes-its-first-married-priest.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Great Falls-Billings welcomes its first married priest - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Another married Episcopalian is swimming the Tiber — and is about to be ordained a priest. 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