Elizabeth Jane Via was born in St. Louis, MO. in 1947 and grew up in Kirkwood, MO. outside of St. Louis.  She has a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Purdue University, a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University, and a J.D. from the University of San Diego.  She was a professor of Religious Studies for several years at a Catholic college and university before she became an attorney.  She subsequently taught Religious Studies part time in the evenings for several years.  She earns her living as a county prosecutor in San Diego, California.  Jane’s love of languages and intercultural studies was trumped only by her love of God and all things and people authentically religious.

In the late 60s when she graduated from college, she could not attend seminary because she was female.  She took the avenue open to her and pursued her doctorate, specializing in New Testament Studies. 

Her several years teaching Scripture to undergraduates radicalized her understanding of Jesus and the community we call “church.”  She discovered a remarkable convergence between Jesus’ life choices and the values feminist theologians were exploring.  What she learned teaching, eventually brought her into conflict with the canonical church.  She was silenced by the local ordinary in 1984 and remained silenced for 12 years.  Her increasing sensitivity to the patriarchal structures of the church, the exclusive language of the church, and the unwillingness of most priests to make even the smallest changes to include egalitarian language for God and people in liturgy ultimately led her to seek ordination.

Jane was ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Woman Priest movement in 2004 on the Danube River and a priest in June of 2006 on the Bodensee, off Swiss shores.  Jane and co-pastor, Rod Stephens, founded the first full service “parish” convened by a Roman Catholic woman priest in November 2005.  Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community strives to make Roman Catholicism relevant in the modern world, celebrate the restoration of the ordination of women to the Roman Catholic tradition, celebrate gender balance and “a discipleship of equals” in the liturgy, theology and practice of church, and to enact our belief that “all are welcome”. 

Jane is a member of the Immaculate Heart Community.  Whenever possible, she is a participant in Call To Action. Jane lives in San Diego with her husband of many years.  They have 2 adult sons.

Contact Jane Via

Rod Stephens was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on May 25, 1974 for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and later was a priest of the Diocese of Orange when it split from LA in 1976.  He was welcomed as a member of RCWP in 2008. Rod is Co-Founder and Co-Pastor with Jane Via of Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community. Along with Jane, Rod is also a member of the Immaculate Heart Community of Los Angeles and the Founder and Director of SACRA FORMA, a design studio since 1974 for architecture, graphics, and liturgical consultation. Rod is also one of the founding members of The Catholic Worker in Orange County which feeds and houses 125 homeless people a night and the Development Chair of Housing Works, a non-profit established to create housing options that promote, with respect and dignity, sustainable, environmentally sensitive, affordable communities that provide equal and fair access to housing and human services for people with limited income. Rod lives in Irvine with his partner of more than twenty five years, Howard Seller, PhD., Professor of English Emeritus at Cal State University ay Fullerton. 

Contact Rod Stephens

Rev. Nancy Corran, Assistant Pastor

Nancy Corran holds a Diploma in Theology from Oxford, an MDiv from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California and also studied theology and Biblical languages in Switzerland.

Nancy, among her many duties, conducts the Preparation/Education program for 1st Eucharist.

Contact Nancy Corran