ORCCNA: History

Historical Overview
of The Old Roman Catholic Church
in North America
A quick look at our past

» The church traces its origin to the Ancient Catholic Church of the Netherlands, the See of Utrecht, which received autonomous privileges from the Roman Catholic Church under a grant by Blessed Pope Eugene III in 1145.

» These privileges were confirmed subsequently by the Roman Catholic Church in 1215, 1520 and 1717.

» In 1908, the See of Utrecht appointed the Most Rev. Arnold Harris Mathew to establish a non-papal Catholic presence in the United Kingdom. Bishop Mathew declared autonomy of the English mission in 1910.

» In 1914, Bishop Mathew appointed Bishop Rudolph Francis Edward Hamilton de Lorraine-Brabant, Prince de Landas Berges, to establish the ministry of the Old Roman Catholic Church in the United States.

» Shortly thereafter, Fr. Carmel Henry Carfora, an Italian Franciscan Friar, was elected to succeed Bishop de Landes Berghes as Archbishop of the Old Roman Catholic Diocese of America.

» Following Archbishop Carfora's death in 1958, the North American Old Roman Catholic Church evolved into five autonomous, but cooperating ecclesial bodies, one of which is the Old Roman Catholic Church in North America

The Old Roman Catholic Church in North America
info@orccna.org