Jeffrey Neil Steenson PA (born April 1, 1952) is an American retired priest and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and a former

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

the Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

within the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. Steenson was the first ordinary of the

Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or personal ordinariate of the Catholic Church for Anglican (Episcopal) converts in the United States and Canada. Former members of communions ...

which was established for former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

s who have become Catholics. He was previously the bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande is the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Church's diocese in New Mexico and southwest Texas, the portion of the state west of the Pecos River, including the counties of El Paso, Ree ...

from 2005 to 2007, when he resigned and was received into

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with the Catholic Church.

Education

Steenson earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Trinity International University Trinity International University (TIU) is an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. It comprises Trinity College, a theological seminary (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), and a law school ( Trinity Law Sch ...

in 1974, an M.A. in church history from

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is the divinity school of Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. The divinity school was founded in 1897. In April 2025, Trinit ...

in 1976, and an M.Div. from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

in 1978. He went on to earn a D.Phil. from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1983 with a dissertation entitled "Basil of Ancyra and the Course of Nicene Orthodoxy".

Episcopal Church ministry

Steenson was ordained as a priest of

on June 29, 1980, and became a curate at All Saints' Church in Wynnewood,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and later the rector of the

Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) The Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, is an Episcopal parish church in the progressive Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and is located in the Philadelphia Main Line. Good Shepherd ...

, and then St. Andrew's Church in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In October 2004, Steenson was elected

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande; he was consecrated on January 16, 2005. On August 1, 2005, he succeeded Terrence Kelshaw as Bishop of Rio Grande. Steenson was a member of the Board of Trustees of

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries ...

and the Board of Directors of The Living Church Foundation. In September 2007, Steenson announced his decision to resign as bishop, effective December 1.

Roman Catholic ministry

Steenson was received into the full communion of the Catholic Church on December 1, 2007. Having petitioned for ordination in the Catholic Church under the

Pastoral Provision The Pastoral Provision is a set of practices and norms in the Catholic Church in the United States, by which bishops are authorized to provide spiritual care for Catholics converting from the Anglican tradition, by establishing parishes for them a ...

, he began studies at the

Pontifical Irish College The Pontifical Irish College is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary in Rome for the training and education of priests. The college is located at #1, Via dei Santi Quattro, and serves as a residence for clerical students from all over the world ...

in Rome. Steenson was ordained a transitional

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on December 13, 2008, by Cardinal

Bernard Law Bernard Francis Cardinal Law (November 4, 1931 – December 20, 2017) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who, among other offices, served as Archbishop of Boston from 1984 to 2002. Originally considered an influential voice a ...

, the

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. On February 21, 2009, he was ordained a priest for the

Archdiocese of Santa Fe In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Steenson has taught at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas, United States. Established in 1956, it is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Southern Associat ...

(Rome campus), the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and at St. Mary's Seminary, also in Houston. On January 1, 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named Steenson the first ordinary of the newly created

. He was installed as ordinary on February 12, 2012. Upon his appointment as ordinary, Steenson was granted the title protonotary apostolic, the highest rank of monsignor, by Pope Benedict XVI. Being married, Steenson is not eligible to be consecrated a

Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy orders in the Catholic Church, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teachin ...

, but due to his position as ordinary, he was a full voting member of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

. At its founding, the ordinariate was said to have inquiries from over 100 Anglican priests and 1,400 people. Steenson resigned from the office of ordinary on November 24, 2015. His successor, Steven J. Lopes, was appointed on the same day. After resigning from the office of ordinary, Steenson began teaching at the

Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter the priesthood and permanent diaconate, and educates lay men and women on Ca ...

. He was the scholar-in-residence for two years, teaching classes on Patristics and Holy Orders, as well as serving as a formation director. He retired from this position in 2018.

Personal life

Steenson is married to Debra Jane Steenson,Peoplefinders search on Jeffrey Neil Steenson.
/ref> with whom he has three adult children. He is an avid amateur pilot and aircraft builder.

References

External links