St. Catherine of Siena

Dear friends,

Happy feast of St. Catherine of Siena! This beautiful day is particularly special for our monastery this year as we celebrate the vestition of our postulant Catherine. In the Chapter Hall before Mass, she was clothed in the Dominican habit and received the religious name Sr. Catherine Marie of the Divine Presence. This marks the beginning of her two-year novitiate, a time of formation dedicated to deepening closeness with God and putting down roots in the daily reality of Dominican contemplative life.

As our prioress, Sr. Marie Bénédicte, prayed at the beginning of the ceremony:

“Lord Jesus, you who are all powerful in love and do marvellous things, lovingly hear our prayer and look with kindness upon your servant Catherine, whom you have loved with an everlasting love, and who asks to join our community of Queen of Peace and thus the Nuns of the Order of Preachers. We ask that you bless this habit and your servant: clothe her with an experience of your divine mysteries and establish her in the perpetual memory of your Name. As in the days of old, when Elisha received the cloak of the prophet Elijah and received the spirit of the prophet, may the same benediction come down upon the habit of Catherine, so that she may receive anew the Holy Spirit and walk in the steps of our Holy Father Dominic.”

Below are a few moments from the ceremony, which was marked by simplicity and joy:

Please hold Sr. Catherine Marie in your prayers as she begins this new stage of her monastic life, and be assured of our prayers for you, particularly on this feast.

Blessings in St. Catherine and St. Dominic,
your sisters at Queen of Peace Monastery