Sister Jacqueline Stoll, OP, Professes Final Vows
December 5, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Sisters marked the Second Sunday of Advent – the traditional period of waiting – with a special celebration: the Perpetual Profession of Vows of Sister Jacqueline Stoll, OP. The Rite of Perpetual Profession took place at 3:30 p.m. on December 3 in Holy Rosary Chapel on the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Motherhouse campus. Father Robert Kelly, OP, Motherhouse chaplain, was the presider.
Sister Maribeth Howell, OP, Director of Formation, welcomed to the assembly all those gathered in Holy Rosary Chapel, but also those who attended the special event through broadcasting to the Sisters in the Dominican Life Center, and others throughout the United States and abroad who witnessed the event through live-streaming. Guests in the chapel, she noted, included Sister Jacqueline’s sister, Karen Kitchen, as well as friends from as far northwest as Anchorage, Alaska, and as far southeast as New Orleans, Louisiana.
In her reflection, Sister Lorraine Reaume, OP, addressed the Advent theme of waiting, noting the difference between ordinary, often impatient waiting, such as for a bus, and the “holy waiting” of Advent. “Advent waiting chooses to be present,” she said. “Advent waiting honors the time it takes for something special to happen.” While many believe that their hope for the future prevents Christians from living in the present, Advent waiting actually helps Christians to live each moment fully. “What they don’t realize is that the future shapes our now, that hope in the Word made flesh who comes to us in new and deeper ways – that hope enables us to live the now more fully, to be attentive to the deeper meaning of this moment.”
Sister Lorraine noted that waiting is an integral part of life for anyone journeying to religious life. “There are the years of preparation, formation, discernment, evaluations – and, in the midst of that, there is a lot of holy waiting, waiting for the confirmation of God and of the Congregation and of one’s heart that this is indeed the path to which she is called. But I believe religious life itself is also a witness to Advent waiting. It’s a public statement that waiting on our God is worthwhile, so worthwhile and fulfilling, in fact, that we are willing to give our lives to it, as Jackie is doing this day.”
Sister Lorraine, one of the witnesses, had lived in community with Sister Jacqueline in Anchorage, along with Sisters Ann Romayne Fallon, OP, and Josephine Gaugier, OP. Also serving as witness was Sister Geneal Kramer, OP, who was among the Sisters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had introduced Sister Jacqueline to the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
During the Ritual of Perpetual Profession, Sister Jacqueline lay prostrate as the assembly sang the Litany of Saints, invoking their prayers. She was then formally examined by Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, Prioress, as to her readiness for perpetual vows, and affirmed her desire to give her life to the Congregation. “I intend to respond to God’s loving call and the deepest desire of my heart, which is to give myself completely to Christ for the rest of my life.” She asked for God’s help so that “my work, my life, and my entire being may always and everywhere be a preaching of the Word of God until the day I die.”
After professing her vows to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Dominic, Sister Attracta and her lawful successors, Sister Jacqueline received a special blessed ring, which she will wear throughout her life as a symbol of her fidelity to Jesus Christ. Sister Attracta affirmed her Perpetual Profession in the name of the Dominican family, and in particular the Adrian Dominican Sisters. “Our entire Congregation is truly blessed to share faith and life with you,” she told Sister Jacqueline.
The celebration of Sister Jacqueline’s perpetual commitment continued with a festive dinner, followed by a reception in the Rose Room at the Dominican Life Center.
A nurse practitioner, Sister Jacqueline ministers at the University of Mexico Medical Center in Albuquerque, where she had first met the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Before her current ministry, she had served the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, as the coordinator of the Parish Nursing and Parish Health Ministry Program, as well as the archdiocesan Safe Environment Training Program. She also served as a nurse practitioner at a medical clinic at Brother Francis Homeless Shelter, operated by Catholic Social Services in Anchorage. She received the Ruby Award from the Anchorage branch of Soroptimist International in recognition of her work in opening and administering a similar medical clinic at Clare House, a shelter for women and children.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Sister Jacqueline earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Bowling Green State University; a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing from Boston College; and post-graduate certification as an adult nurse practitioner through Columbia University in New York City.