On Aug. 15, Bishop Mark Beckman celebrated Mass with the Benedictine Daughters of Divine Will at their convent in Blount County.
Following Mass, Bishop Beckman and Mother Gabrielle Marie Breaux, the mother superior, presided at the service when postulant Meghan Trettel received her habit and her new name, Sister Maria Philomena.
Mother Gabrielle Marie cut the postulant’s hair and clothed her in the holy habit, assisted by the Sister Seamstress, Sister Maria Maddalena.
Sister Maria Philomena is now a novice with the Benedictine Daughters of Divine Will.
On Aug. 22, Sister Maria Faustina took her first vows of obedience, stability, and conversion of morals. She also received the medallion of the two hearts of Jesus and Mary during the investment ceremony. Mother Gabrielle Marie, as the superior, was present to receive the vows.
The Benedictine Daughters and the Benedictine Monks of Divine Will relocated to the Diocese of Knoxville in 2022.
Photos courtesy of Dorothy Curtis and the Benedictine Monks of Divine Will.