By Sister Kathleen Feeley, SSND
Sister Theu Nguyen, FMSR and Sister Len Bui, FMSR, two Vietnamese Sisters living in community with SSNDs at Villa Assumpta in Baltimore, took their Perpetual Vows on Dec. 31, 2022, at Most Precious Blood Church in New Jersey. The beautifully decorated church was filled with Vietnamese parishioners and many Sisters from their congregation, the Daughters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Presiding was Most. Rev. Thomas Nguyen Thai Thanh, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California. Superior General Sister Mary John Bosco Dung Thi Dang, FMSR received the Sisters’ vows.
Special guests were eight School Sisters of Notre Dame: Sisters Sharon Slear, Grace Okon, Kathleen Feeley, Rita Bueche, Therese Marie Dougherty, Claire Bonneau, and Pat Glinka. Their presence was warmly welcomed.
During the vow ceremony, the four Sisters who joined together to take their vows prostrated themselves before the altar, and the congregation prayed over them. The bishop crowned each one with a small, delicate crown of white flowers and presented each Sister with a “ring of chastity.”
Many of the Vietnamese women in attendance were garbed in their native ceremonial clothes. Some formed the choir that sang beautifully before and during the ceremonial Mass.
More than 15 priests, including Father Joe Muth of Baltimore, concelebrated the Mass. Most of the priests were Vietnamese men who were ministering in the United States. The ceremony was livestreamed so the Sisters’ families and friends could view it. The Sisters at the Villa were able to watch the whole ceremony, too, since they were unable to attend in person.
After the ceremony, the parish hosted a delicious lunch and a program of singing and dancing. Each guest was invited to take a calendar created by the Daughters of Our Lady and a small one-decade rosary bracelet. The deep joy that pervaded the occasion was constantly present.
Later at Villa Assumpta, where the two Sisters reside, a Thanksgiving Mass was celebrated on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Sisters in the Villa, along with Provincial Leader Sister Charmaine Krohe and Provincial Councilors Mary Roy Weiss, Mary Fitgerald, and Paula Dukehart (who was also Cantor), as well as a few other local Sisters, participated in the Liturgy. Father Joseph, Pastor of Most Precious Blood Church, presided, and Father Rodney Eugene concelebrated the Liturgy. Following the Liturgy a delicious dinner was shared in the dining room.
