A woman actually ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church? It's true of Ludmila Javorova, ordained in 1970 in the underground church in Czechoslovakia. Javorova met in her home in late July with U.S. visitors Andrea Johnson, Dolly Pomerleau and Maureen Fiedler from Women's Ordination Conference. The group learned that Javorova was the vicar general of the underground dioceses under the Communist regime, and is now acting as archivist for the underground church, gathering documents from meetings and synods held in total secrecy for decades. She recounted how it would take 12 to 18 hours for 50 to 100 people to gather for a synod, each arriving at a different time from a different direction so as not to raise suspicion among the authorities.

Earlier this year the archbishop of Prague admitted that Ludmila and at least five other women were indeed ordained. The Vatican now claims their orders are invalid.

WOC asked Ludmila about a visit to the U.S. She is not ready for a media tour, but might consider coming late in 1997 to meet privately with women who feel called to ordination and women serving in pastoral roles. She said she had finally made her secret ordination public because the world has to know that there are already women priests!

(Source: Sept., 1996 issue of New Women, New Church, newspaper of the Women's Ordination Conference.)