Starting a New Chapter
This Wednesday, July 16th, we held our triennial elections here at the monastery. Monastic elections don’t have any of the “trappings” we as Americans are familiar with - campaigning, lobbying, political parties, etc. Rather, they are a true moment of unity, grace, and openness to the Holy Spirit as we seek to discern and choose which Sisters will best serve as leaders in our community.
After three days of preparatory prayer, the Capitulars (all Nuns in perpetual vows) met in our new Chapter Room with Sr. Daniela - Vicar of the Monastic Congregation and delegate of Mother President Gertrude - to vote for a new Superior, then for her Council and a Novice Directress. In obedience to the guidance of Holy Mother Church, who urges us in our Constitutions to “gradually, but continually seek the service of new persons for the various offices,” (# 128) we elected the following Sisters:
Superior: Mother Mary Veronica of Jesus Crucified, CP
Vicar: Sr. John Mary of the Indwelling Trinity, CP
1st Councilor: Sr. Cecilia Maria of the Body of Christ, CP
2nd Councilor: Sr. Frances Marie of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, CP
3rd Councilor: Sr. Mary Andrea of the Incarnate Word, CP
Novice Directress: Sr. Maria Faustina of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus and the Sorrowful Heart of Mary, CP
Back row (L-R): Sr. Maria Faustina, Sr. Cecilia Maria, Sr. John Mary, Mother Mary Veronica, Sr. Frances Marie, Sr. Mary Andrea, Christie
Middle row: Sr. Mary Elizabeth, Sr. Catherine Marie, Sr. Mary Agnes, Sr. Mary Therese, Sr. Mary Magdalen
Front row: Sr. Miriam Esther, Sr. Isabel Maria, Sr. Bethany Marie
If you’ve been following our community for a while, you’ll notice that the Holy Spirit and the Capitulars chose to shake things up a bit! After 9 years as Superior, Sister John Mary is now passing the torch to Mother Mary Veronica. With our long-time Novice Directress now serving as Superior, we also elected a new Directress for the first time in 24 years. And all 3 of the Councilors and the Novice Directress are taken from among our younger Sisters! It is a sign of hope and joy that those who entered our Community within the past 25 years are now “coming of age” and being entrusted with these important roles.
We are so grateful to the Lord for the gift of each one of these Sisters, and for their “yes” to serve our community in this way. Please pray for them as they adjust to new responsibilities, and for the rest of us as we rearrange various assignments to account for the changes.
And in the community photo above, you may have noticed a certain Sister who has recently returned from her long sojourn in Italy … Sister Catherine Marie! She is delighted to be back in her “old KY home” to stay, and we are all relishing the fact of having our whole community together again for the first time in 7 years.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!”