Mary Ramerman is one of the founders of the Spiritus Christi church in Rochester, New York.
Ramerman, a convert to Catholicism from Methodism who wished to become a priest, was encouraged by the Reverend James Callan, who was serving as Administrator of Corpus Christi parish in Rochester, to migrate to his parish from her native California to join the staff.
After several years of controversy (particularly around Ramerman's pushing the traditional limits of lay leadership and her presence at the altar wearing a half-stole, along with the parish's practice of radical eucharistic hospitality)[citation needed], in 1998 the Diocese of Rochester's bishop, Matthew H. Clark, transferred Father Callan from Corpus Christi Church, in order to bring the parish back into line (under the orders of the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI).
"[1] Later, on February 22, 2003, he returned to ordain Denise Donato a priest at the historic Hochstein music hall.
In addition to taking a stand on ordaining women, her parish celebrates marriages for gay and lesbian couples, and welcomes everyone to partake in the Eucharist.