Members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham are Catholics of the Latin Rite, within the full communion of the Catholic Church. By civil law they are known, as all Catholics in England and Wales are known, as 'Roman Catholics'. However, their heritage and traditions mean that they are Catholics from the Anglican Tradition.

The Holy Father's offer of a Personal Ordinariate for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church is a generous and pastoral response to the desire of Anglicans for unity with the See of Peter. 

In September 2010, the Holy Father was keen to stress that the Apostolic Constitution "should be seen as a prophetic gesture that can contribute positively to the developing relations between Anglicans and Catholics".