| The Nashville Dominicans and Sister John Thomas |
| by Deal W. Hudson |
| 6/08/09 |
 Strictly speaking, Tennessee is a border state, but the vitality of the Nashville Dominicans is another example of the growth of the Catholic Church in the South. The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are among a handful of women's religious in this country once again providing Catholic schools with teaching sisters. The order is almost 150 years old, but had just began a new era when I had the chance to visit them twelve years ago, and spent an unforgettable afternoon talking to a roomful of their novices. Now, as reported by Catholic News Agency, there are 230 sisters serving in 34 schools around the country, as well as some in Australia at the invitation of Cardinal Pell. Their amazing growth continues with 45 sisters in their initial formation program. This description of the sisters from their vocations director is precisely what I saw when I visited them:
One of the young sisters, who is now teaching, is Sister John Thomas. She was an undergraduate at Kansas Newman College (now Newman University) in Wichita when I first met her. I was at Newman in the mid-90s teaching for a semester at the invitation of the wonderful Bishop Gerber. Sister John Thomas (Rachel Armour) wasn't a sister when I taught her in my class on St. Thomas Aquinas. I had never met an undergraduate who grasped the problems of metaphysics so quickly -- I knew she was a natural teacher. As it turns out, her calling wasn't restricted to that. Sister John Thomas now teaches at St. Mary's Catholic School in Greenville, S.C. where Fr. Jay Scott Newman is the pastor and our own Fr. Dwight Longenecker is one of the assisting priests (watch for his book of poetry about to be published). I have known Fr. Newman for many years, and all I can say is that his parish must be a powerhouse for the Church! (Why didn't I get invited to their golf tournament on May 29?) I've just received an invitation to the "Religious Profession of Perpetual Vows of Sister John Thomas Armour" on July 24th in Nashville. This will undoubtably be a luminous event. Readers have left 2 comments. Related to a comment not too many weeks back about the poor architecture of most new churches, the picture accompanying your article is of the inside of the sisters new chapel completed only a few years ago. Not surprisingly, the sisters got it right (along with pretty much everything else they put their hands to). Written by Ender This chapel was designed by architect James McCrery (www.mccreryarchitects.com)Fittings by Granda Liturgical Arts. Written by James |
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