A Surprise Dominican: Maria Barrett (’14)

The College has received word that on the Feast of All Saints, November 1, Maria Barrett (’14) will enter the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary. There, as a postulant, she will join the Dominican Nuns of Summit, New Jersey, in their life of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of the Holy Rosary.

Despite sensing a vocation to the religious life for many years, Miss Barrett admits that, until recently, she never expected to become a Dominican. In an interview at the time of her graduation, she explained that she had not considered the Order of Preachers until her senior year, when she providentially stumbled upon a copy of One Mind and Heart in God: Dominican Monastic Life. “I put it on my shelf, and then only sometime later started reading it,” she said. “And it was kind of amazing, because it was exactly what I wanted.”

The serenity of life at the College, Miss Barrett said, gave her the peace of mind and contemplative setting that allowed her to discern God’s call more clearly. “Here, things are slower, so you are able to think more deeply and pray more.”

Please keep Miss Barrett and her vocation in your prayers.