First profession of vows

MENDHAM  On Aug. 16, the jubilant strains of “Laudate Dominum” resounded throughout the Chapel of Mary Immaculate of the Sisters of Christian Charity here as two novices, Sister Paulina Navarro and Sister Graciela Colon, pronounced their vows in the Liturgy of First Profession. Bishop Serratelli officiated at the ceremony. Concelebrants included Msgr. Edward Puleo, pastor of St. Brigid Parish, Peapack; Redemptorist Father John Olenick, former pastor of Visitation BVM Parish, Philadelphia; Benedictine Father Edward Seton Fittin, prior, St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown; Jesuit Father Kirk Reynolds of Loyola Jesuit Center, Morristown; and Father Stephen Prisk, priest/secretary to the Bishop and master of ceremonies. Assisting was Rev. Mr. Nelson Falcon of Ascension Parish, New York.

Sister Paulina Navarro of Philadelphia will minister in the Diocese of Paterson as a teacher’s aide at Divine Mercy Academy, Rockaway, while studying for her degree in education at the College of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, and reside at St. Cecilia Convent, Rockaway. Members of sister’s family and home parish of Visitation BVM, Philadelphia, attended.

Manhattan was the home of Sister Graciela Colon. Members of her home parish of the Ascension and family also attended the ceremony. In her new ministry, she will serve as a staff lawyer in the Immigration Services Program of the Diocese of Metuchen, Catholic Charities site in New Brunswick and live at St. Cecelia’s Convent, Iselin.

Sister Maria del Rosario Castro, general superior of the congregation, present for a visit to the North American Eastern Province, received the vows of the sisters in the presence of the community.

When asked what the two newly professed look forward to as they continue their journey of faith, Sister Paulina replied, “I look forward to mission life, especially helping the children, and growing in charity.” Sister Graciela is “eagerly looking forward to bringing the charism of Blessed Pauline to all I encounter in my ministry.”