Vocations are a wonderful gift from God and the fruit of many prayers. If prayers are essential for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, the Catholic faithful of our diocese must have been praying a great deal. This was certainly in evidence earlier this month when I ordained Deacon Doug Owens to the transitional diaconate. And in addition to the 10 seminarians from our diocese currently preparing for the priesthood, we anticipate another six men who, in discerning God’s call, will begin their seminary studies this fall. Yet another fruit of your prayers that I am happy to share with you is the establishment of a new missionary congregation in our diocese: the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary.
Women religious have always played an essential role in the Church’s growth and missionary endeavors. One need only think of the many sacrifices and contributions of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (South Central Community) and the creation of St. Mary’s Hospital in 1930. Today St. Mary’s Health System treats more than 1 million patients a year.
I am also thinking of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Ad Gentes” who minister so effectively to our Hispanic brothers and sisters. I am likewise grateful to the many other women religious whose countless contributions have helped our diocese become what it is today.
With this in mind, I am greatly pleased to welcome The Evangelizing Sisters of Mary, first founded in Northeast Uganda, to our diocese. They bring their charism for catechetical instruction, teaching, health care, and social ministry to our diocese. Their main charism, though, is planting the Church among people who do yet believe in Christ and to bring the Church to its full development where it is already growing. We will initially be joined by three sisters: Sister Maureen Ouman and Sister Claudia Aya, who will teach at Sacred Heart Cathedral School, and Sister Dorothy Njala, who will assist at Catholic Charities.
As you will remember, last year our diocese was blessed to welcome another order, the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich. These sisters, in addition to their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, also profess a fourth vow, one of service, which is lived out through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Sister Maria Lin Pacold, who has been here since the East Tennessee foundation was formed, recently departed for Tulsa, Okla., in order to complete her medical residency training. I will greatly miss her, but I am pleased to welcome in her place Sister Mary Elizabeth Ann McCullough, who joins us from Portland, Ore.
Sister Mary Timothea Elliott, RSM, recently joined us from Denver after many years teaching at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary, where she was the founding chair of the Scripture department. She was also one of the seven founding sisters of her order and is therefore referred to as “Mother” within her order. Sister has a doctorate in sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and is a scholar in ancient and modern languages. She will be a great blessing to us as diocesan director of the Christian Formation Office.
We are also blessed by the growing presence in our diocese of the Dominican Sisters of the St. Cecilia Congregation, whose motherhouse is in Nashville. They have been a visible presence in East Tennessee for 60 years, since they first began assisting at St. Mary School in Oak Ridge, and on June 25 the congregation will celebrate its 150th anniversary. The sisters have also assisted at Knoxville Catholic High School since 2005 and will begin serving at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga and at St. Joseph School this coming fall. The congregation has doubled in size over the past two decades, to more than 250 sisters, which is a wonderful sign of hope and blessing to the Church.
Last year we were most blessed to receive a special gift from outside our diocese that made possible the purchase of a convent home near my residence for the Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich. This outside party once again has blessed us with a special gift in honor of Justin Cardinal Rigali and has permitted the diocese to purchase a house that will serve as my new residence. This is providential, as the Sisters of Mercy, who expect more sisters to arrive soon to help with their work here, will move into my larger former residence. This will allow the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary to move into the Sisters of Mercy’s vacated convent home.
A bishop’s residence is far more than simply a home. It’s a center of diocesan hospitality as an inviting expression of the “Father’s house.” It’s a place where the bishop can gather with not only his priests and with civil and religious leaders from the community but also with members of his flock and parish leadership teams. It is, as President Andrew Jackson once said of the White House, the “people’s house.” But it’s also a place where the welcoming message of the Gospel is shared. Its chapel is an expression of the cathedral church and an intimate place of prayer and the sacraments, where friendships unite around the “breaking of bread.” This home will also be a place where Cardinal Rigali, in future years, will spend a significant amount of time.
When I reflect on my youth and how my own calling to the priesthood was helped and strengthened by the witness, prayers, and sacrifices of consecrated religious sisters, I feel truly humbled and grateful. Please join me in thanking Our Lord for the gift of so many vocations and for those whose lives are dedicated to being a gift to the Church and to the priesthood.
Very Reverend Bishop;
It is very exciting to read of the growth of vocations, and that of several religious communities in our diocese. My wife and I can still vividly recall our misgivings about moving from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1970 – - into what was then a sometimes violently anti-Catholic region. While we still see the same misunderstanding and derision from some, the growth of the Church and the examples of many outstanding Catholics in every walk of life has, over those 40 years, changed the majority of non-Catholic minds toward a much more open and positive way of seeing the Church.
Your voice, and the presence of these "new" religious can only accelerate the trend.
May God continue to guide and protect you and them!