In Nashville, addition to Dominican motherhouse 'not just a building'

Published: 2005-05-24

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- For the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, the new addition to their motherhouse "is not just a building, but a place that helps us live our Dominican life," according to Dominican Sister Marian Sartain, general councilor of the congregation. "It's built to support our mission of teaching," she told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese. The newly completed east wing of the motherhouse includes an expanded dining hall and commercial kitchen, a library four times larger than the old one, an updated computer lab, music and art rooms, a community room, a new infirmary, a climate-controlled archive area and 160 new 10-foot by 11-foot cells, the small private bedrooms where the sisters sleep. Unlike many religious orders in the United States that are only drawing a trickle of new members, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are flourishing. On average 15 candidates have been received each year for more than a decade. In August, 17 postulants will be added to their number.

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