Sr. Patricia Dual Makes Perpetual Profession

COLUMBUS, OH - On Saturday, December 10, 2011, Sr. Patricia Dual, OP, made her perpetual profession of vows as a Dominican Sister of Peace at the Columbus Motherhouse. While the membership of the Dominican Sisters of Peace does include a diversity of cultures, Sr. Patricia is the first African-American vowed member of the congregation. (Click here to view a video of Sr. Pat discussing her vocation journey.)

Sr. Patricia was thrilled to have her two sons and their families with her to celebrate her profession, and was especially thankful that her new granddaughter, Christiana, was present. Rev. Denis Kigozi was the presider, with concelebrants Revs. Scott Kramer, CPPS, and Michael Trainor, OP, assisting. The gospel choir of St. Thomas the Apostle parish, Columbus, graced the event with moving hymns and four Dominican Sisters presented the gifts in a celebratory manner, wearing African attire and performing a traditional dance.

Sometimes referred to as "final vows," perpetual vows represent the culmination of a woman's discernment and formation process in becoming a Sister, when she becomes a permanent member of a religious community. Sr. Patricia first entered religious life as a candidate with the Dominican Sisters in 2005; in 2006 she entered her Novitiate years and in 2008 she made her first or temporary profession of vows. In September 2011, she formally requested to her make perpetual profession and was accepted.

But her journey to the altar Saturday began long before she entered the congregation. Sr. Patricia describes a period of about ten years in her younger days when she felt estranged from her faith; she stopped going to Mass and ceased being involved in the life of the Church altogether. But eventually, she began to feel a profound longing, a void that she couldn't seem to fill. In time she realized that her heart's deep desire was a stronger connection to God. She returned to the Church, now with a strong commitment to renew her relationship with God and a new zeal for her faith. This was when the seeds of her new vocation were planted, Sr. Patricia believes.

Initially, she hadn't considered the possibility of religious life at all, assuming that the fact that she had been married and had children might be an obstacle. In addition, she never really had known any African American priests or Religious in her younger days. But in 1974, she met a black man who was then a deacon (and eventually became a priest), and it opened her eyes to possibilities she hadn't imagined before. She began to expand her circle of friends to include more Sisters and other Religious, exposing her to different orders. Feeling a call to "something new," she became a lay Associate of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore, MD, but in time she found God still calling her further. When her friend Sr. Pat Twohill, a Dominican Sister of Peace, first suggested she might have a vocation, Patricia wasn't sure how to respond. Later, at a vocations retreat, she met another woman who was a less-than-traditional Sister - older, formerly married, with children and even grandchildren - whose vocation inspired her to explore her own vocation more seriously.  In time, God revealed that indeed she had a vocation to religious life, and eventually she responded with a resounding "Yes!"

While she was acquainted with several religious communities, Sr. Patricia felt immediately welcomed among the Dominican Sisters and was drawn to learn more. She says that with them she found a great acceptance of all people and a desire for their Sisters to be their own individual selves. "Even though I was the only African-American, I never felt different. I always have felt free to be myself and I've always been supported for who I am and how I express who I am," she shares. She says she feels encouraged to be herself, but also to be a better version of herself than she would otherwise imagine. An accountant by training, Sr. Patricia it was the support of the community that enabled her to step out of that role and enter pastoral ministry. And she has found great reward in it: she has loved her work of the last four years ministering as a pastoral associate with St. James the Less Parish, Columbus.

As Sr. Patricia prepares to embark on a new ministry with the Vocations Office of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, she is excited by the new possibilities and open to whatever God has planned for her. "God has carried me this far," she shares, "I know that all I need do is open myself in service, and God will provide all I need to do His will."