CV NEWS FEED // A disgraced priest who abandoned his ministry to travel to Italy with an 18-year-old girl has entered into a civil marriage with her.
Alexander Crow, 30, formerly a priest of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, made national headlines this summer when he abandoned his parish. It was revealed that he traveled to Italy with an 18-year-old girl who was a recent graduate of the high school where Crow worked.
News sources have now reported that Crow and the woman signed a civil marriage certificate filed with the local judge’s office.
Shortly after Crow left the country on July 28, the Archdiocese of Mobile released a statement saying that he could no longer present himself as a priest.
“Fr. Alex Crow abandoned his assignment in the Archdiocese,” an archdiocesan spokesperson stated. “His behavior is totally unbecoming of a priest. He has been informed by the archbishop that he may no longer exercise ministry as a priest, nor tell people he is a priest, nor dress as a priest.”
Following the news that Crow had entered into a civil marriage, the Archdiocese of Mobile released the following statement:
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi announced in July that he had suspended Alex Crow and prohibited him from acting, dressing, or presenting himself as a priest. Archbishop Rodi additionally shared in August that he saw no way back to the priesthood for Alex Crow. The recent news of Crow’s civil marriage only confirms the Archbishop’s judgment. Archbishop Rodi anticipates that the Vatican will eventually laicize Alex Crow.
At the beginning of November, local authorities announced they had closed their investigation into Crow and had found no activity that violated civil law. Sheriff Paul Burch said he believed Crow groomed the girl while she was underage but that there was no proof.
“Once a predator, always a predator,” Burch said. “Why else would you start something if you didn’t intend there would be a physical relationship in the end?”
According to the archdiocese, a formal process has begun seeking Crow’s laicization. The archbishop has said that he sees no way that Crow could return to active ministry as a priest.
Crow supposedly met the girl while she was a student at McGill-Toolen High School, during his visits to the school to provide sacraments and teach classes. According to reports, Crow began leaving her notes that suggested he wanted to marry her.
Upon her graduation, he fled the country with her, abandoning his post as associate pastor at Corpus Christi parish. He was assigned to the parish after being ordained in 2021.
