After graduating from Bob Jones University here in Greenville with a degree in Speech and English, he went to study theology at Oxford University. He was eventually ordained as an Anglican priest and served as a curate, a school chaplain in Cambridge and a country parson on the Isle of Wight.
Realizing that he and the Anglican Church were on divergent paths, in 1995 Fr. Dwight and his family were received into the Catholic Church. To read Fr. Longenecker’s conversion story or to listen to the audio version connect to the archived articles section of his blog.
Fr. Dwight spent the next ten years working as a freelance Catholic writer, contributing to over twenty-five magazines, papers and journals in Britain, Ireland and the USA. He has also written over twenty books and booklets on the Catholic faith. You can browse Fr. Longenecker’s books by going to his website here.
In 2006 Fr. Dwight accepted a post as Chaplain to St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. This brought him and his family back, not only to his hometown, but also to the American Bible belt, and hometown of Bob Jones University.
At St. Mary’s Church in Greenville in December 2006 he was ordained as a Catholic priest under the special pastoral provision for married former Anglican clergy. He now serves as pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary parish.
Fr. Dwight enjoys movies, blogging, books, and visiting Benedictine monasteries. He’s married to Alison. They have four children, named Benedict, Madeleine, Theodore and Elias. They live in Greenville, South Carolina with a chocolate Lab named Felicity, a cat named Nora and various other pets.
Fr. Longenecker is a well known Catholic blogger. Visit his blog which is called Standing on My Head. Follow him on Twitter here, and connect with him on Facebook and LinkedIn