Pope Knights Clinton Brand

Pope Francis gave the honor of papal knighthood to English Department chair, Professor Clinton Brand, on Feb. 1 at Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church for his work on the Anglicanae Traditiones Interdicasterial Commission.

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, created the mandate for the Commission. The Apostolic Constitution recognized that within the Anglican tradition exist “elements of sanctification and truth” calling people into a deeper Catholic unity, Brand said.

As a result of the Apostolic Constitution, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Divine Worship established the Commission, of which Brand is a member. Along with several priests, bishops, archbishops, and officials of the Holy See, Brand helped compile the Anglican rites and texts for incorporation into the Catholic Church along with establishing Ordinariates, which are types of non-geographical dioceses for these Anglican converts and for others received into the Church through the Ordinariates.

The work of the Commission has so far culminated in two texts: Divine Worship: Occasional Services and Divine Worship: The Missal. The latter is pending final approval by Pope Francis and is expected for release in the summer.

Brand, a convert from Anglicanism, desired to be a part of a more universal religion that affirmed the fullness of Christian truth and offered the unity, authority and assurance he wanted. 

“It seems to me the best and the truest elements in the Anglican tradition originally came from the Catholic Church,” Brand said, “It has been a great privilege and a big responsibility to help bring these traditions back to their proper home.”

The Anglican tradition began when King Henry VIII of England broke away from the Catholic Church because he wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. When Pope Clement VII said that he could not allow him to divorce Catherine, the king seized control of the Church of England and repudiated the authority of the pope. Before this, the Anglican or the English Christian tradition was fully incorporated as part of the Catholic Church.

For Brand, the history and associations of the Anglican tradition helped draw him to the Catholic Church even as he came to appreciate the differences. According to Brand, although the outward difference between Anglicanism and Catholicism may seem minor, it is actually “miles deep.”

“I’m very glad that I had that background and that formation because I think that’s what shaped my desire to become a Catholic,” he said.

Although it may not be surprising that Anglicanism preserved a lot of Catholic elements because of its origins, Pope Benedict XVI did surprise many when he responded favorably to petitions from different groups of Anglicans around the world for reunion with the Holy See, Brand said.

However, nothing was more surprising to Brand than receiving the papal knighthood. He always considered himself as merely a “lowly scribe” on the Commission.

“I was just one little element of a much bigger project involving many other and far more important people,” he said.

While Brand does not think he deserves the honor, he does think it is significant in a deeper sense because of what the award symbolizes.                              “What it symbolizes is, first, the Church’s recognition of the contributions of the laity… like me, and secondly… the recognition of the Ordinariate,” Brand said.

In regards to his new title as knight, Brand admits he has to have a sense of humor when people address him as “Sir Clinton” or when people ask him where he keeps his sword or horse. He also admits that he does not really know what goes into being a knight.

“I guess debutantes go to finishing school and dogs go to obedience school, but is there a summer camp for new knights?” Brand joked. 

While Brand is sometimes embarrassed at the attention his knighthood has drawn, he acknowledges that even if he only contributed a little bit to the Church’s work in making better Catholics and more Catholics out of the resources of the Anglican tradition, that is wonderful, Brand said.

Brand hopes his legacy will include other important titles as well.

“I want to be remembered, I guess, as a guy who did his best to be a good husband, a good father and a good teacher,” Brand said. “That’s it.”

Photo Courtesy Margaret Pichon