Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 6/30/05)

On Saturday, June 25, Audrey Moran, a 2004 graduate of Mary Washington University, was accepted as a novice to the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales at an 11 a.m. Mass at the home of the Oblate Fathers in Childs, Md. Sister Audrey spent the last 10 months as a postulant with the Oblate Sisters in preparation for the day, which was attended by nearly 150 close family and friends.

At Mary Washington, Moran participated in the Catholic Campus Ministry program, where she grew in her Catholic faith and found the answers to many of life’s questions. Not until late into her junior year and early into her senior year did Moran begin to wonder if she was called to a religious vocation. After much prayerful discernment, Moran announced to friends and family that she would be entering the order after she graduated.

Last weekend, the ceremony began by the celebrant asking Sister Audrey, who was dressed in all white, "Sister, what would you like to ask?" Sister Audrey than responded that she wanted to join the Oblate Sisters and grow in the ways of Salesian spirituality. A candle was then presented to Sister Audrey as a symbol of spiritual enlightenment, a veil was placed on her head and she was given the new name Sister Audrey Frances. It was then that Sister Audrey Frances retired to change into the grey habit of the Oblate Sisters. Upon her return, now adorned in her new clothing, Mass began.

The choice of the Gospel — Luke 1:26-38, the Annunciation, Mary’s vocational story when she says "yes" to God’s call for her to bear His son — was fitting for this celebration. In his homily, Father Jack Peterson thanked Sister Audrey Frances for answering God’s call and for generously giving her life as a sacrifice not only to her Beloved Spouse Jesus, but also to His Church. The Mass was followed by a reception held at the Oblate Sister’s house of formation.

Father Ron Escalante, chaplain of Mary Washington and parish priest at Saint Mary, attended the ceremony along with more than 20 fellow students and alumni of Mary Washington’s Catholic Ministry.