MARBURY, Ala. — On Nov. 22, Sister Mary Thomas of the Holy Name of Jesus, OP, made her first profession of vows as a cloistered Dominican nun at the Dominican Monastery of St. Jude in Marbury, Ala. The former Nicole Rankin graduated from her family's homeschool high school in Quincy and completed her freshman year at Quincy Community College prior to entering the monastery in 2011.

The Mass of First Profession was celebrated in the Dominican Rite by Father Dominic Marie Langevin, OP, with the chant propers for the feast of St. Cecelia sung by the Dominican nuns.

Present for the ceremony were Sister Mary Thomas' parents, Mark and Stephanie Rankin, who are parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Quincy, and her uncle and paternal grandparents. Sister Mary Thomas' twin brother Dominic Rankin and her younger brother Alex served at the Mass. Dominic is a seminarian for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.