Seven young women — including three from the Arlington diocese — professed the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as members of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 10.
Dominican Sister Abigail Thérèse Jones is a former parishioner of St. Agnes Church in Arlington and the daughter of Alan and Anne Jones, parishioners of St. Agnes. She graduated from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, and she earned a bachelor’s in history and a master’s in education with a concentration in special education from William & Mary in Williamsburg. She attends Aquinas College in Nashville, owned and operated by the Dominican sisters.
Dominican Sister Amata Magdalene Sause is a former parishioner of St. James Church in Falls Church. Her parents, Francis and Marion Sause, are parishioners of Holy Cross Church in Covington, Ky. She graduated from Lake George High School in Lake George, N.Y., and earned a bachelor’s in biology and secondary education from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. She is working toward a master’s in teaching at Aquinas College.
Dominican Sister Monica Baptiste Whelan is another former parishioner of St. Agnes, and the daughter of current parishioners Edward and Deborah Whelan. She graduated from Oakcrest High School in Vienna, and earned a bachelor’s in classics from William & Mary. She is working toward a master’s in teaching at Aquinas College.
The Mass for the Rite of First Religious Profession was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. Nashville Bishop Mark Spalding was the main celebrant. The homilist was Dominican Father Dominic Langevin. Father Matthew Kiehl, former chaplain at William & Mary and vocations director for the Richmond diocese, concelebrated.
In 1860, the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia was established in Nashville, where its motherhouse is located. The sisters are dedicated to the apostolate of Catholic education and the order’s 300 sisters serve in 52 schools throughout the U.S. and abroad, with mission houses in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Bracciano, Italy; Elgin, Scotland; Sittard, The Netherlands, and Limerick, Ireland.
