Dublin, Ireland - The wife of a Protestant bishop has converted to Roman Catholicism with the public blessing of both churches.
"I believe strongly in the freedom of religion and freedom to express your religious identity," said Archbishop Alan Harper, leader of the Anglican-affiliated Church of Ireland.
"She has made what was for her and her husband a particularly difficult decision and a particularly difficult move. We must now pray that they are sustained in their integrity and continuing ministry. ... There are some awkwardnesses," he said.
The formal conversion of Anita Henderson took place Sunday in the private chapel of Catholic Bishop John Fleming in Ballina, County Mayo, western Ireland. Present for the ceremony were her husband, Church of Ireland Bishop Richard Henderson, and the couple's three children.
"Her decision, made after much heart-searching, deserves the respect of us all and we trust that all people of goodwill will share in this," the two bishops said in a joint statement.
"This is a time of unprecedented hospitality, friendship and collaboration between our local churches. ... We believe that such genuine and honest searching is a positive indicator in these times — and will not go unrewarded by the God we all strive to love and serve," the bishops said.
They both declined requests to be interviewed Wednesday.
Mrs. Henderson, whose father is also a Church of Ireland minister, met her husband when she was studying theology at the University of Nottingham in England. They married in 1985.
"This is the culmination of a long journey of spiritual searching," she said in a statement. "I feel under God that is what I am being called to do."
Mrs. Henderson has been an ardent advocate of ecumenical cooperation in this overwhelmingly Catholic country. She has attended Catholic retreats at a County Sligo community of American monks and nuns, and the couple's three children all have attended a Catholic convent school.