Sister Kelly Moline, OP, professed her first profession of vows as a Dominican Sister of Springfield during the Eucharistic liturgy on Aug. 7 at the Sacred Heart Convent chapel in Springfield.

The Minnesota native met the Dominican Sisters when she moved to Springfield for work. “I kept bumping into Springfield Dominicans where I worked, at the Springfield Area Young Adult Mass, and at Cursillo in Quincy,” she recalls. “I’d been thinking about religious life already. The joy I saw in those first three sisters I met — Sister Maxine, Sister Concepta, and Sister Loyola — made me want to learn more about Dominican life. Now here I am!”

Her pronunciation of vows came in response to the question asked her by Sister Rebecca Ann Gemma, prioress general of the Springfield Dominicans: “In your desire to follow Christ, are you resolved to live in chastity for the sake of the Reign of God, to choose a life of poverty, and to offer the sacrifice of obedience?”

Her first ministry assignment is St. Martin DePorres Convent on Chicago’s south side where she will live in community with other Springfield Dominican Sisters and study at Catholic Theological Union.

Sister Kelly’s parents, Kevin and Cindy Moline of Glendale, Ariz.; her brother Jay Moline of Manhattan, Kan.; and her grandmother Pat Fox of Hastings, Minn.; were present to celebrate with her.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in gerontology from Missouri State University, Springfield, Mo., in 2005 Sister Kelly worked in continuing care retirement communities in St. Louis and Southbury, Conn., before taking a position at Concordia Village in Springfield that brought her into contact with the Springfield Dominicans and led to her to the decision to pursue a vocation as a Catholic sister.

First vows are, by requirement of church law, a temporary commitment that allows both the newly professed and the congregation to continue discernment about the suitability of the professed for a perpetual commitment as a public minister in the church. Sister Kelly professed vows for three years. Typically those will be renewed for a second two-year temporary commitment before a perpetual commitment is made.

For information about how to become a Dominican Sister contact Sister Teresa Marron, OP at (217) 787-0481 or .