Fr. Dwight Longenecker
Fr. Dwight Longenecker was raised an Evangelical in Pennsylvania. After studying theology at Oxford University, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and served as a curate, a school chaplain in Cambridge and a country parson on the Isle of Wight. Realising that the Anglican Church and he were on divergent paths, Father Longenecker and his family were received into the Catholic Church in 1995. In 2006, God’s Providence opened the door for him to return to the USA and be ordained as a Catholic priest under the special pastoral provision for married former Anglican clergy, and who now serves as Pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville, South Carolina. A prolific speaker and writer, Father Longenecker has written numerous books including his earlier works: ‘Adventures in Orthodoxy’ (2002), which is popularly described as ‘a Chestertonian romp through the Apostles’ Creed, ‘More Christianity' (2010) explains the Catholic faith for Evangelical Christians in a positive and friendly way, and his more recent publications such as ‘Immortal Combat' ‘Beheading Hydra: A Radical Plan for Christians in an Atheistic Age’ study the Catholic faith’s answers to the current cultural crisis. His autobiography, ‘There and Back Again: A Somewhat Religious Odyssey’ (2023), is published by Ignatius Press. His books are readily available on his website—dwightlongenecker.com, and Amazon. Father Longenecker has been featured on various prominent podcasts including EWTN’s ‘The Coming Home Network International’ (2014), Gospel Simplicity with Austin Suggs (2021) and ‘Rescuing the Novus Ordo’ (2022) with Brian Holdsworth. He is also a regular contributor to National Catholic Register and The Imaginative Conservative website, where he is a senior contributor. More recently, he is on the writing team for The Saints podcast—an award winning audio drama series showcasing the lives of Catholic saints. He is presently working on a stage play on the life of Elizabeth Barton—the Holy Maid of Kent.