Please select the underlined link (found below) bearing the title, "JubileeFAQs.pdf."  This will open the hyperlinked FAQs document where you can find answers to your questions regarding the Jubilee weekend of celebration that begins Friday June 25, 2010.

The document is designed so that you can click on a question and be directly linked to the answer. You will find all necessary information regarding the events, hotel accommodations, directions and more.

This document will be updated periodically with additional information.  Please always refer to the date on the front to know if you have the latest information.

We look forward to seeing you this summer!
Jubilee FAQs.pdf

Please click the underlined hyperlink to open the invitation and response cards for the events of the weekend June 25-26, 2010.  All RSVPs and dinner reservations with accompanying payment can be mailed to the following address as early as March 1st.  Please note that seating for the dinner is limited.  We look forward to seeing you this summer!

Family Invitation

address response cards to:

150th Jubilee Committee
Saint Cecilia Congregation
801 Dominican Drive
Nashville, TN 37228-1905

Please click the underlined hyperlink to open the invitation and response cards for the events of the weekend June 25-26, 2010.  All RSVPs and dinner reservations can be mailed to the following address as early as March 1st.  Please note that seating for the dinner is limited.  We look forward to seeing you this summer!

Clergy Invitation

address response cards to:

150th Jubilee Committee
Saint Cecilia Congregation
801 Dominican Drive
Nashville, TN 37228-1905

Please click the underlined hyperlink to open the invitation and response cards for the events of the weekend June 25-26, 2010.  All RSVPs and dinner reservations can be mailed to the following address as early as March 1st.  Please note that seating for the dinner is limited.  We look forward to seeing you this summer!

CMSWR and Women Religious Invitation

address response cards to:

150th Jubilee Committee
Saint Cecilia Congregation
801 Dominican Drive
Nashville, TN 37228-1905

Please click the underlined hyperlink to open the invitation and response careds for the events of the weekend June 25-26, 2010.  All RSVPs and dinner reservations with accompanying payment can be mailed as early as March 1st.  Please note that seating for the Jubilee Dinner is limited.  we look forward to seeing you this summer!

Benfactor and Friends Invitation

Please mail response cards to:

150th Jubilee Committee
Saint Cecilia Congregation
801 Dominican Drive
Nashville, TN 37228-1905

This silver-filled special edition medal of Saint Cecilia was cast for the Congregation as a commemmorative medal in honor of the 150th Jubilee.  Visit our bookstore for more details.

Please select this link to open the pdf document which details the Plenary Indulgence privilege that has been granted to our Congregation during this 150th Jubilee.  We pray that the grace of this Plenary Indulgence will renew within our sisters and the faithful who celebrate with us a spirit of Faith, Hope and Charity; deep thanksgiving to Almighty God; increased love for the Church, and renewed fidelity to our vocations.  PLENARY INDULGENCE

Filling the Recreation Hall of the 1862 building, the sisters gathered with a spirit of joy and gratitude on the evening of December 23rd to solemnly open the 150th Jubilee Year.

In her opening remarks, Mother Ann Marie recalled the many opportunities for grace in the coming year.  The sisters then listened to excerpts from the congregation's earliest history.

After praying for each of the 212 deceased members of the community by name, the sisters processed by candle light through the convent to the chapel singing the Salve Regina.

In the first lecture of a three part series, Dr. Carole S. Bucy, professor of history at Voluteer State Community College in Gallatin, presented "Nashville in the 19th Century."  In her work as a public historian and teacher, Dr. Bucy specializes in women's history and recent American history.

During her presentation, Dr. Bucy focused on the first settlers in the Nashville area with an emphasis on the women settling the South, thus providing a context in which the sisters could explore further the Community's foundation in 1860.

Mother Ann Marie and Sister Marian visit with Dr. Bucy after the lecture.

As part of our jubilee celebration, we honored the employees of the Congregation for their generous service to the Community.

Sisters and employees sat down to a luncheon in the guest dining room at the Motherhouse.  The center pieces on the tables were original sketches and artistic photographs of the convent grounds that were given as a gift of appreciation to each of the employees.

At the close of the lunch, the postulants and novices sang a short selection of songs celebrating our Dominican heritage.

On December 6, the sisters enjoyed the first concert of the Congregations's 150th Jubilee celebration. The Nashville Youth Strings Orchestra gave a dress-rehearsal performance of their Christmas concert on the stage of the Motherhouse Recreation Hall. Throughout the year, the Congregation will host musical events to honor our patroness St. Cecilia.

Dr. Celeste Tuten conducts the orchestra of approximately 70 children. During the concert she remarked on the size and beautiful acoustics of the 1862 room.

The audience included both sisters and the families of the young musicians who together enjoyed cookies and lemonade after the concert.

General: That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equality, taking into account the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest.
Mission: That the Churches throughout Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice.

Select the link below to read the Holy Father's message about the life and virtues of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100203_en.html

The Saint Cecilia Chapter of the Dominican Laity gathered at the Motherhouse on February 20 for their annual retreat.  The retreat master was Father James Sullivan, O.P.

Three of the community's members make temporary profession and receive the small white scapular of the Order.

Aquinas College held their third annual Saint Thomas Aquinas Forum at the Motherhouse on February 5th and 6th.  This year's forum focused on the Fathers of the Church under the title "Champions of Orthodoxy."

Eighty participants gathered Friday evening for the opening lecture delivered by the forum's keynote speaker Mike Aquilina, Executive Vice-President of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Sister Mary Michael, Director of the Catechist Formation Program at Aquinas College, confers with one of the conference attendees after a lecture.

St. Cecilia Congregation and Aquinas College nursing program hosted Mercedes Wilson, foundress of the Family of the Americas foundation, for a training workshop for educators of Natural Family Planning.  Family of the Americas promotes respect for the sacredness of marriage and family through their international work in education and health. The weekend seminar was held at the Motherhouse from January 29-31, 2010.

During her lectures, Mercedes Wilson incorporated humorous and inspiring stories about her international work with both Church and World leaders.

Mrs. Patricia Lynch, Mrs. Mercedes Wilson, Mrs. Nancy Budowski, Mrs. Judith Leonard, and Dr. Maria del Pilar Calva Mercado worked as a team throughout the weekend to prepare future educators from both a medical and interpersonal perspective.

Sister Catherine Joseph holds the conference's youngest attendee during one of the lectures.

Sisters, students, nurses and educators from around the United States gathered to attend the conference.

This winter the Sisters have enjoyed a record snowfall at teh Motherhouse.  When several inches of snow closed Nashville schools for two days, we bundled up and headed outside.

Sisters gather at the top of the hill for an afternoon of sledding.

Novitiate sisters take a short break from the sleds to take in the beauty of the snow-topped convent.

On January 22, 49 Nashville Dominicans from nine of our thirty-four schools converged on Washington, DC for the annual March for Life.

Our postulants made the pilgrimage from Nashville and carried the community banner during the march.

Sister Amata Christi traveled with nine other sisters and a group of approximately 90 students from St. Cecilia Academy.

Students from Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, Maryland, where our sisters have taught since 1985, gather for a photo during the march.

From January 16-18, the community celebrated our annual 40 Hours Devotion.  This devotion, which began in the Church in 1530, provides the faithful with various opportunities to adore Christ in the Eucharist including exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, processions, litanies, and benediction.  During this weekend of devotion, we embraced these many occasions of grace to rekindle our love for the Eucharist, source and summit of our faith.

The devotion opened with community Mass Saturday morning followed by a procession through our cloister walkway.

At the close of 40 hours devotion, Bishop Choby and over thirty priests of the diocese as well as priests from Knoxville and Memphis joined the community to celebrate solemn Vespers.

Sister Theresa Marie greets Monsignor Mankel of the Knoxville diocese at the closing dinner hosted in honor of our priests.

In the days before Christmas, the novices prepared hundreds of truffles and loaves of bread to send to benefactors.

With Sisters home from all our missions in the US and Australia, the chapel was filled.

Sister Maria Catherine directed the choir during Midnight Mass.

On Saturday December 12, approximately 40 seminarians from St. Benedict's minor seminary and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans came to visit St. Cecilia Motherhouse.  A growing group of seminarians have been making a winter visit over the past three years.  After a New Orleans style lunch for the entire community, the visit culminated in a sacred music concert planned by our guests.

Sister Katherine receives the religious habit and her new religious name, Sister Cora Marie.

Mother Ann Marie presents each piece of the habit, with a prayer, to the new novice.  Here Sister Amelia receives the habit and the religious name Sister Marie Monique.

Sister Gemma Rose rejoices in her new patroness, Saint Gemma Galgani.

The new novices stand in the cloister corridor where they are greeted by the community.

Sister Constance has a captive audience.

A festive meal in the refectory follows the ceremony.

Sister Maria Francesca, Sister Dominica, Sister Mary Margaret (front row)
Sister Maria Benedicta, Sister Rita Marie and Sister Marie Elena (back row) professed the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on July 28, 2009.

Sister Mary Margaret professing her vows as Mother Ann Marie receives them.

Bishop Choby presents Sister Dominica with the black veil of a professed sister.

The sisters make the prostration as Bishop Choby blesses their scapulars.

The sisters stand with Mother Ann Marie, Bishop Choby and Sister Mary Angela before the Mass begins.

Sister Marie Rose, Sister Anna, Sister Margaret Anne, Sister John Thomas, Sister Cecilia Anne, Sister Dominic, Sister Maria Joseph and Sister Gianna professed their vows perpetually on July 24, 2009.  Here they are joined for a pre-Mass photograph with Mother Ann Marie (center) and Bishop David Choby.

Father Wojciech Giertych, O.P., theologian to the papal household, preaches the homily.

The sisters make the prostration during the singing of the Litany of Saints.

Sister John Thomas professes the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for all her life.

The first retreat, The Spiritual Life of the Blessed Mother, was preached by Reverend Wojciech Giertych, O.P., of the Polish Dominican Province.  Father Giertych was appointed Theologian of Papal Household by Pope Benedict XVI in December of 2005, and currently serves at the Vatican in this capacity.  Just prior to being appointed to this position, Father Giertych served as the Order's Socius for the Intellectual Life, as well as professor of Moral Theology at the Angelicum in Rome.







The second retreat was preached by Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain, Bishop of Joliet, Illinois.  Bishop Sartain preached on Reflections on the Spiritual Life.  Prior to his appointment as Bishop of Joliet. Bishop Sartain served as Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas.  He is originally from the Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee.



 

Salt and Light, Canada's Catholic Television Network, produced a documentary on the life and work of the Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation. 
Click on the link for a clip of this movie.  http://nashvilledominican.org/Vocations/The_Vocation_Director

While many religious orders are currently facing marked decline in novitiates and the aging of their members, the communities of the CMSWR are experiencing growth on a worldwide scale.  The Foundations of Religious Life is ideal reading for sisters and those in formation, as well as their counterparts in men's communities.  For more information, visit the website of the CMSWR. CMSWR flyer

His Eminence, Cardinal Francis Arinze, came to Shelbyville, TN to offer the keynote address at Springfest 2009.  This event is dedicated to promoting Pope John Paul II's call to a springtime in the Church, "The Spirit will truly bring about a new Springtime of Faith, if Christian hearts are filled with new attitudes of humility, generosity and openness to His purifying grace."  Prior to Springfest, His Eminence visited St. Cecilia Motherhouse with Bishop David Choby.  Having served in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2002-2008, Cardinal Arinze retired last December.

Cardinal Arinze celebrated Mass on May 15 in our St. Cecilia Chapel.  He preached on the love of the Church, love of Mary, and the need for prayerful reading of Scripture.  He exhorted us to continue to "love the actual Church, not the Church that could exist" because "love of the Church shows our love for Christ." 


Our community chaplain, Fr. John Rock, S.J. (left) Bishop David Choby, of Nashville (third from left), and Monsignor Owen Campion, Associate Publisher of Our Sunday Visitor (right), concelebrated the Mass with Cardinal Arinze.

Mother Ann Marie, Prioress General of the St. Cecilia Congregation, explained the historical context of our Congregation within the Dominican Order.  In 2010, the Congregation will celebrate its 150th Jubilee.

Mother Ann Marie (second from right) and the General Council had the opportunity to visit with His Eminence over breakfast and thank him for his faithful service to the Church.

Father Carlos Azpiroz Costa, OP, the 86th successor of St. Dominic as Master General of the Dominican Order, came to the United States in April to make a fraternal visit to the St. Joseph Province Friars and Nuns.  Some of our sisters had the opportunity to visit with the Master in Cincinnati, Ohio and Providence, Rhode Island.

Father Carlos is originally from Argentina, but currently resides at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome.