It was a great day for a run. Bright skies and warm weather
greeted 24 young women March 8 as they boarded vans driven by
Father Joel D. Jaffe, Arlington diocesan vocations director,
and Administrative Assistant Anne-Marie Minnis to visit three
local convents in a daylong “nun run.”
The run is an annual diocesan vocational event that brings
young women discerning a vocation to area convents where they
can get information about specific religious orders. The
sisters talk to the young women about their order, answer
questions and pray together.
Twenty-one of the young women were members of the Fiat
discernment group for high school girls, and three were young
women, out of high school, discerning a vocation.
Their first stop was the convent of the Religious Sisters of
Mercy in Clinton, Md., for Mass and a presentation.
The next stop was the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Port
Tobacco in La Plata, Md. Again, the young women heard the
sisters’ story, had lunch and prayed.
The final convent was the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in
Woodbridge.
The spring-like weather brought out thousands of motorists in
the Washington area that clogged local roads and, according
to Father Jaffe, made the trip from La Plata to Woodbridge a
bit longer than normal. That delay caused an abbreviated
visit to the Dominican convent.
The young women made the best of the shortened visit, hearing
from sisters like Amata Christi proudly tell the story of the
Dominican Sisters.
The day ended with a rosary.
Analise Kinley, 15, is a home-schooled student and
parishioner of St. Matthew Church in Spotsylvania. She loved
talking and praying with the sisters at all three convents.
“It was nice to see what the sisters were like,” said Kinley.
“They had joy.”
Kira Sanchez, 17, a student at Northwest High School in
Germantown, Md., is interested in the Carmelite order and
heard about the Fiat event from the vocations office at the
Archdiocese of Washington.
“Just going down (to the Discalced Carmelite Nuns) was a
wonderful experience,” she said.
Valerie Guilloux, a parishioner of St. William of York Church
in Stafford, met her daughter, Madeline, 15, at the Dominican
convent. She watched and listened as the sisters spoke about
their order. She brought out her rosary as the sisters and
the young women prayed.
“I’m happy (Madeline) is open to discernment,” said Guilloux.
“It’s God’s will.”
