NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Among the 11 young women making their perpetual profession of the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tenn., on July 22 was Sister John Peter Clarke, the daughter of Leo and Kathleen Clarke, members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle.

Sister John Peter is a graduate of Kolbe Academy in Napa, Calif., and Aquinas College in Nashville, Tenn., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Science degree in education. She is currently teaching at Saint Pius V in Providence, R.I.

The Mass for the Rite of Perpetual Religious Profession was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Bishop David R. Choby of Nashville was the principal celebrant.

In addition to the sisters making final profession of vows, 12 young women professed their first vows in the Congregation of St. Cecilia on July 25.

The Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia was established in Nashville in 1860. The Sisters of St. Cecilia are dedicated to the apostolate of Catholic education. The community of 280 sisters serves in 33 schools throughout the United States, with mission houses also in Sydney, Australia; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Aberdeen, Scotland. The community recently opened a house of studies in Washington, D.C. Among the members of the community is Sister Marian Sartain, sister of Archbishop J. Peter Sartain.

August 19, 2013