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August 6, 2021, Westchester, Illinois – Sister Katherine Frazier, OP, renewed her vows with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for three years during a Vespers service August 1, 2021, in Chicago. Celebrating with Sister Katherine were Sister friends and the newly-elected leadership team of the Catherine of Siena Mission Chapter, Sisters Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, Mary Priniski, OP, and Mary Soher, OP.
During the ritual, Sister Katherine renewed her vows to Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP. Dominicans vow obedience to Almighty God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Dominic, and the Prioress and her lawful successors. The ritual concluded with the signing of papers by Sisters Patricia and Katherine and her formal witnesses, Sisters Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, and Dorothy Glaister, OP.
In a phone interview, Sister Katherine reflected on the grace of her Renewal of Vows. “There’s so much uncertainty right now,” she said. “It was very moving to be able to say that I have the path ahead of me, recommitting myself at this time. This is an invitation to keep on my journey with the Adrian Dominican Sisters and to continue to discover how God is calling me in my life.”
Sister Katherine said she was moved by Sister Patricia’s invitation “to continue to live into a brave space,” and by the presence of so many friends – Sisters who had been with her on her journey as an Adrian Dominican Sister. The use of the incense during the simple service was also moving, she said. “I really felt the prayers of everyone enveloping me.”
Sister Patricia Walter, OP, who has accompanied Sister Katherine on her formation journey since she entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation in 2015, said temporary vows and renewal of vows are important steps of initial formation into a religious community, giving the Sister and the Congregation the time to discern whether she is called to be an Adrian Dominican Sister. “The process of full incorporation into the Congregation is a lengthy one,” she said. “Religious life is not a common vocation.”
As Director of Formation, Sister Pat accompanies Sister Katherine in the initial formation process, helping her to understand the vows and shepherding her through the processes of renewal of vows and, ultimately, final profession. “It’s been a grace to accompany Katherine,” she said. “It affirms the relevance of the Dominican charism today because younger people still say, ‘There’s a call here and this is something I can give my life to.’”
A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sister Katherine was serving as coordinator of the Bishop Donald Trautman Catholic House at Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, at the time of her entrance into the Congregation. Since her First Profession in 2018, she has ministered in Mission Integration at Regina Dominican High School, an all-girls high school founded and sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and located in Wilmette, Illinois. Sister Katherine is beginning a new ministry: refugee resettlement in New Haven, Connecticut, which will involve helping refugees to find their way in their new homes and to meet their basic needs as they become adjusted to life in the United States. “I’m looking forward to learning a lot,” Sister Katherine said.
Sister Katherine describes religious life as an adventure. “If there’s anything I have experienced in these last six years it is that religious life is very full of surprises,” she said. “Part of the mystery of religious life is discovering where God is calling us out of the community, and how often it takes us to unexpected places. It can sometimes be hard, but it’s always a place that is full of grace.”
If you or someone you know is a single Catholic woman, age 19 to 35, who is discerning God’s call, please contact Sister Katherine Frazier, OP, or Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, Co-directors of Vocations, at [email protected]. Registrations are also being taken for the next Come and See weekend, October 8-10, 2021, at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse campus in Adrian, Michigan.
Feature photo: Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, one of Sister Katherine’s witnesses, embraces her as Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, signs the Renewal of Vows document. Photo by Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP
July 13, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Congregation celebrated the lives and faithful dedication of 44 Jubilarians – one Sister marking 80 years; 12 marking 75 years; 14 celebrating their Double-Diamond (70-year) Jubilee; 17 celebrating their Diamond (60-year) Jubilee; and one Sister marking her Silver (25-year) Jubilee. Together, the Jubilarians represent 3,005 years of religious life, dedicated to God, the Church, and the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
The Congregation’s formal celebration – scaled down from previous years because of the COVID-19 pandemic – involved a Memorial Mass for seven deceased Diamond Jubilarians on June 25, 2021, and the formal Jubilee Mass for the living Diamond and Silver Jubilarians on June 26, 2021.
As a sign that the Motherhouse Campus is gradually reopening, seven Jubilarians who live at the Motherhouse or in surrounding Lenawee County attended the two Masses in person. They were Sisters Rosemary (Maura Catherine) Abramovich, OP, Virginia (John Thoma) Corley, OP, Tarianne (Virginia Anne) DeYonker, OP, Carmen Joseph Dominguez, OP, Mary (Mary Ardice) Keefe, OP, and Gloria (Jonathan) Korhonen, OP, all Diamond Jubilarians, and Sister Aneesah McNamee, OP, a Silver Jubilarian.
The Sisters celebrating their 80, 75, and 70 years of religious life were honored separately by their Mission Chapters. View the complete list of the 2021 Jubilarians.
In a moving ritual during the Memorial Mass, individual Jubilarians placed a flower in a vase in front of the altar as each deceased Diamond Jubilarian’s name was proclaimed: Mary Elizabeth (Marie Jonathan) Beres, OP, Carol Ann (Mary Teresina) Dulka, OP, Michele Kopp, OP, Mary Ann Luby, OP, Theresa (Victor Mary) McCall, OP, Ann (M. Catherine) Schafer, OP, and Mary Eileen (Eileen Paul) Sullivan, OP.
During the Memorial Mass, Sisters Mary Keefe, OP, and Tarianne DeYonker, OP, reflected on the opening prayer of the Congregation’s Rite of Committal: “We bring our Sister to this holy place, this sacred ground to join with those in the communion of our Adrian Dominican Saints who have gone before us. This is a place of peace and rest, of memory, inspiration, and gratitude for all of those who have gone before us and who now lie in these circles of discipleship and friendship.”
“Reflecting on the end point of our lives can give us a healthy perspective on our life choices at difficult times and remind us of our need for one another,” Sister Mary said. “We are truly companions, called to support one another in good times and in bad times. Inspired by our Sisters who have gone before us, may we also be witnesses to the spirit of Dominic and Catherine [of Siena].”
Watch the Memorial Liturgy.
The Jubilee Liturgy on June 26 exuded a spirit of joy and celebration. Father James Hug, SJ, traced Jubilee to the Hebrew Scriptures, Leviticus 25:8-22. “Loving God, you established the original Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbath years, to remind us that all creation comes freely from your hand as your gift of love to your people,” he said. “Today we celebrate your love to these Jubilarians, grateful that you called them to your service.”
Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, addresses Jubilarians near and far as she reflects on the readings for the Jubilee Mass.
Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, addressed the Jubilarians, noting the joy of Sisters, Associates, and friends in joining them virtually in the celebration of their Jubilee. “Each of you have blessed and been blessed by so many people and places with your individual and communal ‘yes’ over these many years,” she said. “You have poured out your loving presence among the youth, those who are sick, and those who are in need of an education … You have served in foreign lands, rural areas, and inner cities, preaching a word of welcome and healing to those who experience broken relationships.”
Sister Gloria represented all of the Jubilarians – those in the chapel and those watching via live stream – in renewing her vows to Sister Patricia.
Watch the Jubilee Mass. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you’ll see the video on the right.
The Jubilee celebration was coordinated by the Jubilee Committee: Sister Marie Joy Finfera, OP, Chair; Sister Virginia Corley, OP; and Co-workers Krystal Baker, Jan Bourg, Jeanette Desgrange, Ashley Duke, Susan Kremski, and Jill Maria Murdy.