On December 12th, our beloved Christie made her final commitment as an Oblate Affiliate with our community. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic made things look a little different, it was still a truly joyous occasion. As Christie told the Sisters afterwards, “It could not have been more perfect!” For those of you who were not able to be present (or who were planning to watch the live-stream, which ran into technical difficulties!), we wanted to share some photo memories of the special day. Click each image to enlarge and see captions!

For all those wondering, an Affiliate is a Catholic laywoman who, while not becoming professed religious, lives within the monastery, sharing our spirituality and assisting us through works of service both within and outside of the cloister. According to the 1980 Vatican indult which gave the Passionist Nuns permission to have Affiliates (up to two per monastery), she makes her commitment for one year at a time, and after nine years she may make her commitment without specifying the duration (i.e. for life). Though she does not profess any vows, she lives in the spirit of the evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty, obedience) and of our Passion and enclosure vows. She follows the monastery horarium as her duties allow; her life is governed by Guidelines which our community has established for our Affiliates.

Affiliates are different from our monastery’s Oblates, who are an association of lay men and women as well as secular priests who have sensed a call to share in our Passionist charism while remaining in their various states of life. You can read more about the Oblates here.