Bishop John B. Lipscomb announced Tuesday his intention to leave the Episcopal Church to join the Roman Catholic Church.

In a letter to the diocese, Lipscomb said he has written to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, asking “to be released from my ordination vows and the obligations and responsibilities of a member of the House of Bishops. I have taken this step in order to be received into the Catholic Church.

“Through a long season of prayer and reflection Marcie and I have come to believe this is the leading of the Holy Spirit and God’s call for us for the next chapter of our lives,” he wrote.

Lipscomb stepped down Sept. 15 after a decade as bishop of Southwest Florida. Lipscomb told his successor, Bishop Dabney Smith, about his actions Tuesday at a meeting at the diocesan office in Sarasota. “On Tuesday, Bishop Lipscomb informed me of a personal decision he and Marcie have made regarding the expression of their Christian faith,” Smith said after the meeting. “I am pleased that he and Marcie have found their place of spiritual solace.

“I value his friendship and wish them well,” Bishop Smith said.

--Jim DeLa