An Alabama priest who was removed from ministry has reportedly entered into a civil marriage with an 18-year-old woman he met through his work at a Catholic high school.
Father Alex Crow, 31, was suspended from ministry in July after he abandoned his assignment and left the country with the woman one month after she turned 18.
The Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama suspended his priestly faculties, which prohibits him from presenting himself as a priest, saying Mass, leading church ministries, or entering school grounds.
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi said in a statement reported by NBC News 15 that he expects the Vatican to laicize Crow. He had previously said that he sees no possible way for Crow to return to the priesthood.
“The recent news of Crow’s civil marriage only confirms the Archbishop’s judgment,” the statement read. “Archbishop Rodi anticipates that the Vatican will eventually laicize Alex Crow.”
The archdiocese reported to the Mobile District Attorney’s office that Crow had traveled in July to Europe with the woman, who he met through his ministry at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. The office, however, did not find evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Crow and the woman signed a notarized marriage certificate on Nov. 17, 2023, and the probate court received it on Monday, according to WKRG News 5 in Mobile.
The soon-to-be-laicized priest was ordained in the archdiocese on June 5, 2021, according to a now-removed bio of him on the Corpus Christi parish website.
He studied at Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana, earning a baccalaureate of liberal arts and philosophy. He holds a master’s of divinity from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, and a baccalaureate of sacred theology from the Pontifical Atheneum of San Anselmo, Rome, with a concentration in demonology and exorcism, according to his biography.
Crow, his biography says, was an Episcopalian, before joining the Presbyterian church. It wasn’t until he was 21 years old that he felt the call to become a priest, the biography says.
He has given several lectures on Marian apparitions and spiritual warfare for his parish, according to posts from the parish’s Facebook page.
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Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Sep 18, 2024 / 08:54 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Wednesday said the Catholic Church is “more alive” outside of Europe as he reflected back on his recent apostolic journey to Southeast Asia.
“A first reflection that comes spontaneously after this trip is that in thinking about the Church we are still too Eurocentric, or, as they say, ‘Western,’” the pope said in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 18.
“But in reality, the Church is much bigger, much bigger than Rome and Europe … and may I say much more alive in these countries,” he added.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
In his first general audience since returning from the longest international trip of his pontificate, the pope expressed gratitude to God for his experiences in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore Sept. 2–13.
“I thank the Lord who allowed me to do as an elderly pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit,” Francis said.
The pope, who turns 88 in December, expressed his enthusiasm for the “missionary, outgoing Church” he encountered on his visit to the four island nations in Asia and Oceania.
The pope recalled his visit to the grounds of the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, where he signed a joint declaration with Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar condemning religious-based violence and promoting religious harmony.
“There, I saw that fraternity is the future, it is the answer to anti-civilization, to the diabolical plots of hatred, war, and also sectarianism,” he said.
Pope Francis arrives at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Pope Francis commented that the missionaries and catechists were the “protagonists” of his visit to Papua New Guinea, where the pope was welcomed by the beating drums of some of the country’s Indigenous tribes who have accepted the Catholic faith.
“I rejoiced to be able to stay a while with the missionaries and catechists of today; and I was moved to listen to the young people’s songs and music: In them, I saw a new future, without tribal violence, without dependency, without economic or ideological colonialism; a future of fraternity and care for the wondrous natural environment,” Francis said.
The pope added that he has “a beautiful memory” from traveling to the remote coastal town of Vanimo, a jungle outpost where he said Argentine missionaries “go into the jungle in search of the most hidden tribes.”
Pope Francis said that he experienced the “air of springtime” in East Timor, a small Catholic country that gained its independence from Indonesia in 2002.
He praised the Catholic country for its many large families and many religious vocations.
“I will never forget the smiles of the children,” he said. “In East Timor, I saw the youthfulness of the Church: families, children, young people, many seminarians and aspirants to consecrated life.”
Frequently throughout his trip, Pope Francis commended the high birth rates found not only in East Timor but also in Indonesia, saying that such high fertility rates should be an example for other countries around the world.
On his return flight to Rome, the pope praised East Timor’s “culture of life,” adding that wealthier countries, including Singapore, could learn from the small country that “children are the future.”
Looking back on his final stop in Singapore, the pope remarked that the modern city-state was very different from other countries he visited during his apostolic journey.
“Even in wealthy Singapore there are the ‘little ones,’ who follow the Gospel and become salt and light, witnesses to a hope greater than what economic gains can guarantee,” he added.
Pope Francis reflected on his journey to the four tropical islands on a cloudy fall morning in Rome. The pope was quite animated as he spoke about his travels, frequently making extra comments off the cuff to the crowd.
He underlined to the crowd that an “apostolic journey” is much different than tourism because “it is a journey to bring the Word of God, to make the Lord known, and also to know the soul of the people.”
At the end of the audience, the pope offered a prayer for the victims of the recent severe flooding in Europe and encouraged the local Catholic communities who are working to provide relief to the flooding caused by Storm Boris.
“In these days, heavy torrential rains have hit Central and Eastern Europe causing victims, missing persons, and extensive damage in Austria, Romania, Czech Republic, and Poland, who have to cope with tragic inconveniences caused by the floods. I assure everyone of my closeness, praying for those who have lost their lives and their families,” he said.
Pope Francis commented that there were many newly married couples who came to the general audience to receive his blessing for their marriages, with the Holy Father giving a shoutout to two Vatican employees who will be married in Vatican City this weekend.
The pope asked the Virgin Mary’s intercession for the newlyweds to have the grace “to accept work and daily crosses as opportunities for growth and purification of your love.”
Francis also prayed for the sick, elderly, and disabled present at the general audience.
“May Our Lady of Sorrows, whom we recalled a few days ago in the liturgy, help you, dear sick and elderly people, to grasp in suffering and difficulties the call to make of your existence a mission for the salvation of your brothers and sisters,” he said.
Madrid, Spain, Apr 22, 2022 / 12:45 pm (CNA).
The Plenary of Spain’s national council of the judiciary has questioned the draft law on “the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of LGTBI … […]
U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves to the crowd at the 2025 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: EWTN News/Screenshot
Washington D.C., Feb 28, 2025 / 18:15 pm (CNA).
U.S. Vice President JD Vance led… […]
5 Comments
I’m glad we are “discerning the signs of the times” and being led into “conversations of the Spirit” to weed out those traditionalist orthodox nuts who might apply to seminary and instead give us the kinds of opening, non-rigid, dialogue-inclined accompanying clergy like this one … who accompanied his girlfriend to Europe. Tommy Rodi is patting himself on the back for stripping Crowe’s faculties in July: would it be appropriate to note that he’s been bishop since 2008 so, as ordinary, HAD TO APPROVE ordaining this guy in 2021. Oh, yeh, forgot to mention THAT …. Enough of excuses for the mediocrities that have nested in the episcopal college…..
Actually, if he went through years of seminary and NO ONE offered any hint he was not suited, I cannot blame the bishop for ordaining him. On the other hand, if the bishop saw something the seminary people did not and took no action, then yes, he is to blame. From the story, I cannot tell which is correct.
Sorry?? HAD to ordain him?? I would think the fact that he had first been an Episcopalian, than a Presbyterian, and the Catholic Church was his THIRD choice, would have been enough to eliminate him from the seminary. Period. These sort of unorthodox histories can be reflective of a pattern of behavior which will continue to be repeated. His commitment to the priesthood appeared to have lasted two years, until he came upon a woman who appealed. His commitment to his vocation was clearly very thin. Maybe if the Pope were not working overtime shutting down Latin Mass, which seems to produce MANY more vocations than the norm, the seminaries would not feel they have to accept marginal candidates. This is a disgrace, in any case.
I’m glad we are “discerning the signs of the times” and being led into “conversations of the Spirit” to weed out those traditionalist orthodox nuts who might apply to seminary and instead give us the kinds of opening, non-rigid, dialogue-inclined accompanying clergy like this one … who accompanied his girlfriend to Europe. Tommy Rodi is patting himself on the back for stripping Crowe’s faculties in July: would it be appropriate to note that he’s been bishop since 2008 so, as ordinary, HAD TO APPROVE ordaining this guy in 2021. Oh, yeh, forgot to mention THAT …. Enough of excuses for the mediocrities that have nested in the episcopal college…..
Actually, if he went through years of seminary and NO ONE offered any hint he was not suited, I cannot blame the bishop for ordaining him. On the other hand, if the bishop saw something the seminary people did not and took no action, then yes, he is to blame. From the story, I cannot tell which is correct.
Crow couldn’t keep his vows to the Church I doubt he’ll be able to keep his vows to his groomed “wife”.
Sorry?? HAD to ordain him?? I would think the fact that he had first been an Episcopalian, than a Presbyterian, and the Catholic Church was his THIRD choice, would have been enough to eliminate him from the seminary. Period. These sort of unorthodox histories can be reflective of a pattern of behavior which will continue to be repeated. His commitment to the priesthood appeared to have lasted two years, until he came upon a woman who appealed. His commitment to his vocation was clearly very thin. Maybe if the Pope were not working overtime shutting down Latin Mass, which seems to produce MANY more vocations than the norm, the seminaries would not feel they have to accept marginal candidates. This is a disgrace, in any case.
Has it occurred to anyone that if we ordained some mature, married permanent Deacons, we could have more reliable Priests and avoid this nonsense?
People might say, oh, this violates the celibacy rule, but Richard Sipe in his research found that 50% of Priests were not totally celibate anyway.
Ordain some mature married men and avoid this foolishness of young Priests being interested in teenage girls.