Two women who were “ordained” last month had their first “mass” last weekend. The Kansas City Star has details:

Rose Marie Hudson and Elsie McGrath were ordained Nov. 11 by a bishop of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests group, in defiance of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Hudson and McGrath con-celebrated a late afternoon Mass on Saturday at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis. McGrath said that the chapel holds 100 people but that 150 crammed inside.

“My guess is most were Catholics who felt alienated from their church,” McGrath said.

The two women each gave a homily and offered communion to Catholics or anyone else in the church, said McGrath, 69.

Hudson, 67, said the women plan to hold a 4:30 p.m. Mass every Saturday at the church.

“We were very well received,” Hudson said.

“We feel good about it, and we plan to go on with it.”

The archdiocese told the women they automatically excommunicated themselves from the church by accepting ordination, McGrath said.

There has been no formal excommunication, but the women were summoned to a tribunal Monday to defend themselves, Hudson said.

“We don’t feel we have to defend ourselves,” Hudson said. “The archbishop has no authority over us because he did not ordain us.”

Their ordination was not conducted by an ordained bishop of the church.

I’d be curious to know just who does have authority over these women?

FWIW: The curious can visit the website for “womenpriests” to see what they’re up to, and why.