Thomas More Alumna Professes First Vows

By Dr. Amy Fahey

On the morning of September 15, The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, I was one of several members of the Thomas More College community who was privileged to witness the first profession of vows of Sister Mary Veritas (Amy Green, ’15), of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.

The First Profession took place in the beautiful Church of St. Anne in Dorcester, Massachusetts, right next to one of the two Sisters of Mercy convents in the United States (the other is in Washington, DC). The church was filled with many sisters of the order—including the Superior General, Sister M. Petra Kowalczyk, who had made the long journey from Poland to be present—along with dozens of priests and sisters from various local congregations of Augustinians, Sisters of Charity, and other orders.

It was an occasion shot through with grace and beauty—the culmination of Amy’s childhood rediscovery of the Faith in Alta, Wyoming, her four years of pursuing Truth at Thomas More College, and her three years of preparation as a novice (her vocations journey is chronicled in greater detail in this 2015 issue of Communitas). But more than a completion, the occasion marked the beginning of a new chapter in Sister Mary Veritas’ devotion to and promotion of her order’s charism, “to cooperate with the Mercy of God in the rescue of lost souls.”

It was fitting that her First Profession took place on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. She is the Patroness of Poland, homeland of St. Faustina and the site of the first establishment of the Order on November 1, 1862. The Feast was also the day on which, in 1988, the order established its first international house outside of Poland—in Dorchester, Massachusetts. So the day was a double celebration for Sister Mary Veritas and her Order: her First Profession also marked the 30th anniversary of the Order’s presence in Boston.

As Sister Veritas traded her white novice veil for the distinctive black veil of the Sisters of Mercy, assisted by the gentle and loving hands of her superior, she radiated a joy and contentment palpable to all of us who witnessed the event. Many of us from Thomas More, including Drs. Denis and Sara Kitzinger, and Sister Veritas’ former Latin professor Fred Fraser, brought our children along to witness the event. My daughters are old enough to recall Sister Veritas from her days at Thomas More as Amy Green, a perpetually cheerful, energetic young woman, who might be seen sprinting across campus (she is an amazing runner!) or perhaps even preparing to hit the slopes near campus to snowboard. While still a student, she used her knowledge of liturgical design from David Clayton’s Way of Beauty course to assist her home parish in crafting a beautiful cosmati floor. And she was among the first of the Thomas More alumni to hold a curatorial fellowship at Wethersfield Estate in Amenia, New York.

She will surely bring the same intrepid spirit that guided her during her four years at Thomas More College to the promotion of Divine Mercy. “What a joy it was to see Amy proclaim her devotion and surrender to Our Lord as Sister Mary Veritas,” Dr. Sara Kitzinger, shared. “Her reverence and humility are a beacon for our age.” Director of Admissions and TMC Alumna Hannah O’Connor echoed this sentiment. “Both as a friend and as an admissions officer at the college, I was greatly moved by Sister Mary Veritas’ “yes”. To have one so dear to you witness with such a “yes”, and to be able to see four years of collegiate life as part of that journey, was incredibly encouraging to me.”

Towards the end of the reception after the formal profession of vows, the Polish sisters of the order came forward to sing for Sister Mary Veritas in their native language. “Before I knew it,” says Hannah, “we were all linked arm in arm, connected in knowing, each in our own tongue, the joy and trust in Him.”

Through her own “fiat,” Sister Mary Veritas perfectly expresses the college’s motto, caritas congaudet veritati (“charity rejoices in the truth”). As Our Lord promised St. Faustina, patroness of the order, “By your entreaties, you and your companions shall obtain mercy for yourselves and for the world.” It’s an audacious enterprise, and one so sorely needed in our present age. But those of us who have been privileged to witness Sister Mary Veritas’ pursuit of the Truth over the past several years trust that she will accomplish all in union with the Divine Mercy.

Photos, courtesy of EVAN KRISTIANSEN PHOTOGRAPHY