Sister Maureen Sheen Colker, OP

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Nine young women professed the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 28.

Among those who made first profession was Sister Maura Sheen Colker, OP, former parishioner of St. Monica Church in Duluth.

Sister Maura is the daughter of Jeffrey and Pamela Colker, parishioners at St. Monica Church. She was homeschooled and attended Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville and Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. Sister Maura is currently studying at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee, in preparation for the teaching apostolate.

The Mass for the Rite of First Religious Profession was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. Archbishop John M. Quinn of the Archdiocese of Winona, Minnesota, was the celebrant. The homilist was Father James Brent, OP.

In addition to the sisters making first profession of vows, 14 young women professed their perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience with the Nashville Dominicans on July 25.

In 1860, the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia was established in Nashville, where the order’s motherhouse is located. The Sisters of St. Cecilia are dedicated to the apostolate of Catholic education. The community of 300 sisters serves in 41 schools throughout the United States including St. Catherine of Siena School in Kennesaw.

The sisters have mission houses in Sydney, Australia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Rome and Bracciano, Italy; Elgin, Scotland; Sittard, The Netherlands; and Limerick, Ireland. In 2018, the community will be opening a house in Melbourne, Australia.