The quiet of an Alexandria neighborhood was interrupted by
the sound of a bell ringing from the top of the Mary, Mother
of the Church Monastery of the Poor Clares Jan. 26. The sound
signaled the beginning of a wonderful and unusual liturgical
event and served as an invitation to all to join the
celebration. Despite the cold and snow-packed roads, more
than 100 people crowded into the chapel with the hope of
catching a glimpse of Sister Mary Damiana of the King of
Glory, a 26-year-old Maryland native about to make her final
profession as a Poor Clare Sister.
As the Rite of Solemn Profession began, guests could hear the
sisters singing “Audi Filia” from behind the chapel grate,
the entrance song from the Mass of St. Clare. Arlington
Bishop Paul S. Loverde, the liturgy officiate, processed up
the aisle carrying the crozier of Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the
first bishop of Arlington, as well as the ring and pectoral
cross of Msgr. Justin McClunn, symbols of two men who were
instrumental in bringing the Poor Clares to the Arlington
Diocese.
The communion doors to the right of the altar were opened,
and there stood Sister Mary Damiana holding a tall white
candle that shone almost as radiantly as the young sister’s
smile.
At different points in the liturgy and during the homily,
Bishop Loverde expressed his deep admiration for Sister Mary
Damiana’s sacrifice and gratitude toward her family for
supporting her in her vocation despite living in a culture
that often does not value religious life.
“This morning, we are witnessing a very unusual event, an
event which is foreign to the culture in which we live: A
woman is pledging her commitment to live as a vowed
cloistered religious, to serve for the rest of her life. The
culture around us speaks of ‘temporary,’ ‘for a while,’
‘maybe,’ but this woman, Sister Mary Damiana, is proclaiming
‘permanent,’ ‘for the rest of my life,’ ‘forever yes!’ This
disciple of the Lord has crossed out all maybes from her
lexicon and her life,” said Bishop Loverde. “How encouraged
we are – and strengthened as well – by the definitive ‘yes,’
which Sister Mary Damiana will proclaim in our midst.”
That moment for Sister Mary Damiana to make that definitive
“yes” finally came. She approached the communion doors and
placed her hands in those of the abbess. While kneeling, she
recited her promise to live a life of poverty, chastity,
obedience and enclosure for the remainder of her life. The
abbess then presented her with the symbols of her solemn
profession: a silver ring and a crown of thorns.
After placing the ring on her left hand and the crown of
thorns on her head, Sister Mary Damiana’s family was invited
to the door for the sign of peace with their newly professed
daughter, sister, aunt and friend. Her father and mother
embraced her, and before leaving, her father, Gerald Walsh,
gave her a special blessing, one that thanked God for the
years his daughter had spent with them, and now he was giving
her back to God.
“This day is every bit as special as any of our kids’
marriages,” said Walsh. “It was a very emotional culmination
of not just seven years of discernment but much longer than
that.” According to her parents, at a very early age Sister
Mary Damiana would ask to go to church to visit Jesus. When
she turned 14, she revealed her desire to be a sister.
While the day was a mix of smiles and tears, her family views
her vocation as a treasure.
“When we come for our visits two times a year she is still a
vibrant part of our family,” said Irene Walsh, Sister Mary
Damiana’s mother. “In some ways she is closer to us than
ever.”