The theological foundations for Jewish covenantal continuity in Christ have been richly explored in recent decades — from Nostra Aetate to Evangelii Gaudium, from Cardinal Lustiger’s personal witness to the ecclesiology of Mark Kinzer. Yet theology now calls for embodiment. For Torah-faithful Hebrew Catholics — Jews who confess Yeshua as Messiah and seek to live in fidelity to the Mosaic covenant — what remains lacking is an ecclesial structure that honors their identity both as Jews and as Catholics, without internal contradiction or marginalization.

This very brief essay proposes concrete, ecclesially faithful paths forward in three interlocking areas: canon law, liturgy, and communal life. These developments would not only serve Hebrew Catholics themselves, but enrich the whole Church by fulfilling the spirit of Nostra Aetate§4 in visible, sustainable, and pastoral ways.

While the Church already provides sui iuris structures for certain non-Latin Catholic communities — such as the Maronites or Chaldeans — it has not yet developed canonical recognition for a Jewish expression of Catholic life. Yet, the door is not closed. Several possibilities exist under current canon law or with reasonable adaptations:

1. Personal Prelature or Ordinariate Model

Inspired by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and the other two similar ordinariates based in Australia and North America (created for Anglicans entering full communion), a Hebrew Catholic Ordinariate could be established under episcopal leadership. Such a structure would:

• Protect Jewish communal and halakhic practices (Shabbat, kashrut, tefillin, etc.);

• Provide appropriate catechesis and sacramental preparation contextualized to Jewish culture;

• Ensure oversight by clergy trained in both Jewish and Catholic traditions.

2. Public Association of the Faithful or Personal Parish

Before full recognition, a transitional model might involve the creation of a public association of the faithful, with the possibility of personal parishes. These would function canonically under a local bishop but with cultural autonomy akin to ethnic or linguistic parishes. These models would signal that Torah-observant Catholic Jews are not tolerated anomalies but cherished members of the Body of Christ with a legitimate spiritual heritage to protect.

The Church teaches that “the law of prayer is the law of belief” (lex orandi, lex credendi). For Hebrew Catholics, liturgical life must reflect their Jewish covenantal identity in continuity with faith in Jesus the Messiah. Several developments are worth considering:

1. A Hebrew Catholic Divine Office and Mass Form

Using the Hebrew language where appropriate, and drawing from traditional Jewish liturgical forms such as Kabbalat Shabbat, the Amidah, and the Havdalah, a new Hebrew Catholic Rite or liturgical form could be developed. The Mass of the Apostles used by Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel might serve as a starting point, but more robust incorporation of Torah feasts, customs, and melodies is needed.

2. Calendar Integration of Jewish Feasts

Jewish festivals such as Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, and Purim can be observed in their biblical context, illuminated by their Christological fulfillment. These would not replace the Catholic liturgical year but exist alongside it, especially in communities where Jewish life continues as part of their covenantal fidelity.

3. Prayer Books and Siddurim

A Hebrew Catholic Siddur or breviary, incorporating psalms, traditional blessings, and New Testament readings, would foster a living spirituality faithful to both the Church and the synagogue. Such developments would allow Hebrew Catholics to pray “with the Church and with Israel,” not one against the other.

Beyond liturgy and law, Hebrew Catholics need communities that reflect the rhythms and values of Jewish life:

1. Hebrew Catholic Villages or Communal Centers

Like the Benedict Option or kibbutz-style living, Hebrew Catholics could form intentional communities rooted in Torah, sacraments, and shared Jewish life. These would offer:

• Communal Shabbat meals;

• Hebrew language immersion;

• Education in both halakhah and Catholic theology;

• Outreach to the wider Jewish and Catholic worlds.

Such communities would give children of Hebrew Catholics a stable identity, preventing the alienation many now experience.

2. Education and Rabbinic Training

There is an urgent need to train Hebrew Catholic leaders, both lay and ordained, with dual competence in Jewish learning (Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash) and Catholic theology (Magisterium, sacraments, liturgy). These leaders could one day serve as Hebrew Catholic rabbis, teaching and guiding the faithful within the Church, much like the Jewish-Christian sages of the first century.

Of course, such developments face significant theological, pastoral, and political obstacles. Concerns about dual observance, fears of Judaizing, or suspicion from both the Jewish and Catholic mainstreams remain real. Yet the post–Nostra Aetate Church has matured; she now affirms Jewish covenantal life as ongoing and holy. The time has come for structures that reflect this reality on the ground.

As Kinzer writes:

“It is not enough for Catholic theology to acknowledge the mystery of Israel; it must give Israel a place within the Church's own life.”¹

Patience, prayer, and discernment will be needed. Yet the moment is ripe for experimentation and pastoral courage.

Torah-faithful Hebrew Catholics do not seek privilege, nor do they wish to separate from the Catholic Church. They ask, rather, for space to breathe within her, to live faithfully as Jews in Christ. The structures proposed here — canonical recognition, liturgical expression, communal rooting — are not deviations but developments. They allow the Church to become ever more herself, embracing her Jewish roots not just in theory but in flesh and blood. As the Church continues to “search her own mystery,” may she discover within herself a room prepared for the sons and daughters of Israel who call Yeshua Lord and still bless His Name with ancient tongues.

1. Kinzer, Mark. Searching Her Own Mystery, p. 134.

2. See Catechism of the Catholic Church §839–840; Evangelii Gaudium§247–249.

3. For precedents in Catholic canon law for liturgical diversity and ecclesial plurality, see Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990).

4. The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham provides a contemporary example of ecclesial structure for cultural and liturgical preservation.

5. Cf. Jean-Marie Lustiger, The Promise, for the model of a Jewish Christian identity integrated into Catholic ecclesial life.

6. Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, The Gifts and the Calling of God Are Irrevocable (2015).