Three Sisters of Life took their perpetual vows on Wednesday, August 6, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, surrounded by more than 1,800 clergy, sisters and brothers religious, family members, and friends.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan served as the primary celebrant and homilist of the Solemn Mass of Religious Profession. He was joined by about 15 concelebrants, including Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar for clergy; Auxiliary Bishop Peter J. Byrne; Diocese of Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop James Massa, rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary; and Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V., Sister Joan Curtin, the New York Archdiocese’s vicar for religious, and Sister Mary Grace Walsh, ASCJ, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York, also attended.

“Allow me to recall a pivotal insight your legendary founder, my predecessor, John Joseph Cardinal O’Connor, so often repeated to you, his beloved Sisters of Life,” Cardinal Dolan said in his homily. “The Lord is changing you, not so much into someone dramatically new, but into the very person he’s always meant you to be. It’s not so much transfiguration, the cardinal would insist, but restoration, restoration. For he would often say to you, ‘You’ve been the apple of His eye from all eternity. You were created in His very image and likeness; you are worth the most precious blood of His only begotten Son. You have the very flame of the divine in the sanctuary of your soul. You are the very mirror of God.’” Cardinal Dolan referred to Wednesday’s Feast of the Transfiguration, the traditional date for the Sisters of Life’s profession of perpetual vows.

Each sister professed her vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience before Superior General Mother Mary Concepta. Each sister also professes a special fourth vow to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. Individually, each of the three also received a ring, representing her marriage to the Eternal Bridegroom, Jesus.

“God is good, and He did it. He’s very faithful, and I think today I’m just in awe of His grace throughout my life, just ushering me to this moment so that I could give a generous yes,” Sister Beata Victoria told The Good Newsroom after the Mass.

Sister Maria Augustine described her journey from her native Long Island to professing her final vows at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “After I was working as a teacher on Long Island, it was quite an unexpected call for me. That was nine years ago. So I prayed about it very seriously for a year and felt like the Lord was asking me to enter. He was stirring up a great joy and eagerness in my heart,” she said.

The Sisters of Life were founded in 1991 after Cardinal John J. O’Connor, then Archbishop of New York, published an article in Catholic New York in 1989 entitled “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.” Eight sisters established the new order on June 1, 1991. It has now grown to more than 100. Their motherhouse is in Suffern.

Biographies of the Sisters who took perpetual vows on August 6, 2025

Sister Beata Victoria, 38, graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a minor in Religious Studies, and from the University of King’s College, Halifax, in 2011 with a Bachelor of Journalism. Before entering the Sisters of Life in September 2017, she worked in the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Public Relations and Communications for five years. Previously, she interned with the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York and served for one year as a missionary with Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of Francis and Silvana Loughheed of Ontario, Canada. She has an older brother, Stephen. Sister Beata Victoria received her sacraments at Holy Rosary Parish and was involved in the youth ministry at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, both in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.

Sister Beata Victoria’s previous missions have included the Hope & Healing mission of accompaniment for women seeking healing and an encounter with the Lord’s merciful love after abortion, the mission in Toronto, which includes services to vulnerable, pregnant women, accompaniment on the journey of hope and healing for those suffering after the experience of abortion, and evangelization.

Sister Léonie Thérèse, 35, graduated from Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Missouri, in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. Before entering the Sisters of Life in September 2017, she taught at Saints Joachim and Ann Catholic School in St. Charles, Missouri, for four years. She is the daughter of Jim and Catherine Weis of Florissant, Missouri, near St. Louis. She is the oldest of four: Elizabeth (husband Brandon Hoff), Sister Anne (a Salesian Sister), and Joseph. The Weises are parishioners at St. Ferdinand in Florissant, Missouri.

Sister Léonie Thérèse’s previous missions have included assisting the community’s newest members through a mission of formation and providing support and services to women who find themselves pregnant in difficult circumstances in the Philadelphia area.

Sister Maria Augustine, 33, graduated from Adelphi University (Garden City, Long Island) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 2014 and a master’s degree in Childhood Education and Special Education in 2015. Before entering the Sisters of Life in September 2017, she taught fifth grade at St. Patrick’s School in Smithtown (2015-2016) and fourth grade at Holy Angels Regional School in Patchogue (2016-2017). She is the daughter of Mark and Carol Correa of Lake Grove, New York; her siblings are Katherine (husband Joseph Mucci), Matthew (wife Sarah), and Victoria (husband Brandon Spiciarich). The Correas are parishioners at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church of Smithtown.

Sister Maria Augustine’s previous missions include living with and upholding women during their pregnancies and following the birth of their children at the community’s holy respite and serving in the Generalate mission of support to the community.