Priest and nun marry formally

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33241, 2 June 1973, Page 8

Priest and nun marry formally

(N.Z. Press Assn.— Copyright) MONTCLAIR (New Jersey), The Rev. Philip Berrigan and Sister Elizabeth McAlister, two of America’s bestknown Roman Catholic activists against the Vietnam war have formally reaffirmed the marriage vows they made secretly in January, 1-972. The marriage ceremony was performed in the home of the bride’s mother by the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, the bridegroom’s brother, also a political activist. Both brothers have served prison terms. Sister Elizabeth is a former nun in the Order of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, and Father Berrigan was a priest with the Society of St Joseph in Baltimore, the head of which the Very Rev. Matthew O’Rourke, said that, by marrying, Father Berrigan had “automatically terminated his service as priest in the active ministry of the Church, and had severed his membership in the Josephite Order."

Father Berrigan and Sister Elizabeth released a statement in which they said that they first considered themselves “married in trust and gratitude” in the spring of 1969. Eighteen months later, there was a marriage ceremony at the Danbury Correctional Centre, where Father Berrigan was serving a term for the destruction of draft records. The “Baltimore Sun” reports that the couple plan to open a commune in Baltimore for members of the peace movement.