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August 11, 2026 – The celebration of the Feast of St. Dominic took on even greater significance and exuberance as Sister Jamie Caporizo, OP, made her first Profession of Vows before a packed St. Catherine Chapel at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse August 8, 2026. 

Her proclamation of faith as she made her temporary vows was witnessed by Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sisters from other Dominican congregations and other congregations of women religious, Associates, Co-workers, family members, and friends.

In First Profession, a woman makes a formal vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience for a certain amount of time. During this continuing time of discernment, the woman and the Adrian Dominican Congregation mutually discern whether the woman’s vocation with the Adrian Dominican Sisters is a good fit for both. Ultimately, the professed Sister could discern that she is called to make Final, or Perpetual, Vows.

The presider of the Mass was Father Michael Driscoll, a priest of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, and a professor emeritus from Notre Dame University, who knew Sister Jamie since her own studies at Notre Dame.

Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, added inspiration to the liturgy as she reflected on the readings, focusing on the Gospel story of the rich young man who could not give up his wealth to follow Jesus. “Clearly this man had not found his true purpose in life, what Jesus calls the pearl of great price, the prize of people whose lives have changed forever because they have found it,” Sister Sara said. “Jesus challenges the man and all of us to discover what is the treasure, the deep gladness God is inviting us to uncover.” 

Sister Sara, Sister Jamie’s novice director, noted that Sister Jamie has spent her years in initial formation in discernment – discerning the messages and calls of great Dominicans such as St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Catherine of Siena. “Today Jamie is beyond thinking about it,” and is ready to profess her vow as a Dominican Sister, Sister Sara said. 

Sister Sara offered Sister Jamie a final piece of advice as her novice director, quoting from Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Superior General of the Jesuits during the Second Vatican Council. “What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what gets you out of bed in the mornings, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekend, what you read, who you know, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” 

The Rite of Profession 

The Rite of Profession began with a formal examination of Sister Jamie by Prioress of the Congregation Elise D. García, OP, as to Sister Jamie’s willingness and readiness to “unite [herself] more closely to God by a bond of religious profession.” Sister Sara testified as to Sister Jamie’s readiness to profess her first vows. 

Sister Jamie then shared her intent to profess vows with the Adrian Dominican Sisters in response to God’s call. “Today I intend to ask God, our Congregation, and the Church to profess vows as a Dominican Sister,” she said. “I desire to consecrate myself to the truth, who is Christ. I seek to open myself to the transformation of the Spirit and in so doing become the hands, the feet, and the voice of Christ to those to whom I am sent ... May I be a reed of God through whom the music of God is always singing.”

The Rite continued with Sister Jamie lying prostrate as the assembly sang the Litany of Saints, calling down the support and prayers of the Dominican saints as she took this next step in her vocation. She vowed obedience to God, the Blessed Mother Mary, St. Dominic, and Sister Elise and her lawful successors. The Rite continued with the presentation of the Congregation’s logo, and signing formal profession papers by Sister Jamie, Sister Elise, Father Discoll, and Sister Jamie’s two witnesses, Sisters Tarianne DeYonker, OP, and Pat Walter, OP.  

In her affirmation of Sister Jamie’s profession, Sister Elise welcomed her into the worldwide Dominican family, noting that her many gifts – including music and service to others – would help to form that Dominican family in the years ahead.

The First Profession of Vows is a significant step in Sister Jamie’s vocation journey. She entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation in September 2023 as a Candidate, the first year of the formal initial formation process for vowed life, and in August 2024 was received as a Novice. She spent her first year as a Novice at the InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN) in Chicago and her second year with the Dominican Sisters of Peace in New Haven, Connecticut, learning more about the Dominican Charism.  

Ultimately, after years of mutual discernment with the Congregation as a temporary professed Dominican Sister, Sister Jamie could request final, perpetual, vows.

Sister Jamie will move to Miami, Florida, to serve as the Director of Health, Arts and Spirituality (HAS) and Coordinator for Music Ministry at Barry University, founded and sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. She will live in community with Sisters Lenor Esnard, OP, Xiomara Méndez Hernàndez, OP, and Marílin Llanes, OP.

Sister Jamie’s Background

The middle of the three children of James and Sheila Caporizo, Sister Jamie was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, giving her easy access to New York City. The performances she attended sparked her interest in music, leading her to earn a bachelor’s degree in music and choral conducting from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

After teaching music at her elementary school alma mater, Rippowam School, she earned a master’s degree in sacred music from the University of Notre Dame, simultaneously serving as a liturgy intern with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and continued working with the sisters after graduation.

During her time of initial discernment with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sister Jamie began a new ministry at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters. Even during a pilgrimage to Assisi, she continued to feel the call to enter the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Sister Jamie said the next chapter in her life, her ministry at Barry University, “will be a chance for me to grow in a lot of ways.” Over the years, she said, “I have felt the love, the challenge, and the commitment of the Sisters. I’m almost speechless, I’m so grateful.”

 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Jamie Caporizo, OP, second from left, holds the hand of Prioress Elise D. Garcia, OP, while professing her first vows. Formal witnesses are Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, holding microphone, and Sister Patricia Walter, OP.

July 13, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Children, parents, teachers, and school administrators from Detroit to Arizona and California have cause for gratitude as Sister Teresa Estrada, OP, turned 100 on July 2, 2026. Sister Teresa ministered as teacher, principal, colleague, and friend.  

In addition to celebrating her birthday this year, Sister Teresa was one of the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s Jubilarians; she marked 70 years as an Adrian Dominican Sister. 

Sister Teresa’s birthday was celebrated at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse on July 2, 2026, with a special Mass, lunch, and a party, attended by Sisters, Associates, Co-workers, and friends. During the party, she received proclamations from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, State Senator Joseph Bellino, and State Representative Nancy Jenkins-Arno. 

“I’ve had a happy life,” Sister Terry said. “I still get letters from one of the teachers going back 40 or 50 years. I loved teaching children, and I thought it was a gift that God gave me. I tried to find the best way that I could help these children.” She also appreciated the parents and the opportunities to help the parents raise their children to be the best that they could be.

“I love what we did today,” Sister Teresa told her group of well-wishers. “I am filled with such joy for this celebration of my jubilee ... and my 100th birthday .... Thank you for the written and spoken messages of love, unity, and support, which I will hold in my heart forever.”

Born on July 2, 1926, in Pirtleville, Arizona, Sister Teresa was the daughter of Manuel and Maria (Rodriguez) Estrada. She entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation on June 26, 1956, and received her high school diploma from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian in 1958. She was received as a novice on December 27, 1956, taking on the religious name of Sister Marie Manuel. She professed her first vows on December 28, 1957, and her final (perpetual) vows on December 28, 1962.

Sister Teresa holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Siena Heights College (University), Adrian, and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

After teaching at St. Philomena in Detroit from 1958 to 1962, Sister Teresa began her final years of ministry in the Southwest. She ministered in education for 30 years in Arizona: as a teacher at St. Anthony, Casa Grande, 1962-1968; as both teacher and principal at St. Joseph, Winslow, 1968-1974; and as a teacher at Santa Cruz Elementary, 1974-1987.

Sister Teresa spent the rest of her formal ministerial life serving at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School in Tustin, California, as teacher from 1987 to 2007 and then as plant supervisor from 2007 to 2017. In 2018, she took on the role of altar server coordinator until 2021, continuing to serve the school in any way she could until 2022, when she retired and moved to the Dominican Life Center in Adrian.     

Sister Teresa also appreciated the Sisters she worked with and the leaders of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. “I have been blessed with religious women in leadership in the Adrian Dominicans and in the Little Company of Mary [founders of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School], who have been remarkably supportive in all my ministries. I am grateful and humbled by the trust with which the parents have placed their children under my care,” she said.

Sister Teresa also influenced the Adrian Dominican Sisters who came to know her through the years. “I was influenced by her presence and her joy, always participating in whatever was going on and always coming prepared,” said Sister Lorraine Brennan, OP. “Her quiet prayerfulness was another influence. She would listen intently and if she had something to say, she would say it.” 

Sister Victoria Dalesandro, OP, has known Sister Teresa since Sister Victoria first entered the Congregation, when Sister Teresa was a Novice. “No matter where she went, she had good relationships with people. Even the nurses who take care of her right now, she calls them her students or her kids. I think her legacy is love – love of people. That’s what you pick up from Terry.”

Watch the video of Sister Teresa’s birthday celebration. 
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, standing right, Mission Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, offers a tribute to Sister Teresa Estrada, OP, seated left. Seated with her, from left, are her sister Salud “Sally” Estrada, ODN, and Sister Marie Luisa Vasquez, OP. Sister Patricia Leonard, OP, standing, right, is Chapter Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter.