ABSTRACT
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia recently approved a rare petition from a man to be an official hermit under the Catholic Church's canons. Richard Withers, 46, has vowed to do all the things a priest does except that he spends almost all of his time away from people, in contemplation (based on “an almost unremitting desire to be alone with God”). Brother Withers has a paying job (which he works at in silence) one day a week and exchanges e-mail with other hermits.
