Sister Roberta Smith, general minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, congratulates Sister Cheryl Wint at her profession of final vows Aug. 2 in St. Augustine Church, Waikiki. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
The spirit of St. Marianne continues anew. On a gorgeous morning in Waikiki Aug. 2 in St. Augustine Church, Sister Cheryl Wint became the newest professed member of the Hawaii saint’s congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.
The high-spired landmark by the sea was packed for the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass with parishioners and Sister Cheryl’s family, friends and colleagues. The liturgy, celebrated by Sacred Hearts Father Lane Akiona, was a joyful celebration of consecrated life.
Rich in symbolism, the “Rite of Perpetual Profession” included the chanting of the Litany of Saints, a ring ceremony commemorating her “life commitment to the Lord” and a blessing from the order’s superiors visiting from the Mainland.
“I, Sister Cheryl Wint, consecrate myself more fully to God and the service of the church,” she said as part of her vows. “I ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Blessed Father St. Francis, St. Clare and all the saints to help me keep this most sacred covenant and to ‘live in the house of the Lord’ all the days of my life.”
Reflecting on her profession a few days later, Sister Cheryl told the Hawaii Catholic Herald that in making her final vows, “I really feel that I have found a home” where “I can live as faithful a religious life as I can.”
She said she was surprised by the impact the profession rite — which took place during a Sunday liturgy in a parish church rather than the normal convent setting — made on the larger community.
Sister Cheryl said she was “taken aback” when parents brought their young daughters to meet and congratulate her. She and her fellow Sisters of St. Francis found the public reaction to the ceremony “very overwhelming,” she said.
As for being a member of the same order as St. Marianne, canonized only three years ago, she said it was “humbling but exciting at the same time.”
To be included in the continuing mission of a contemporary saint, canonized “in our own lifetime,” is “a wonderful experience for me,” she said.
Sister Cheryl was born in England, grew up in Jamaica and lived in Maryland. She is a graduate of the Education for Parish Service program of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and has pursued undergraduate studies at Trinity University in Washington, D.C.
She spent time at the Franciscan Sisters’ formation house in Syracuse, New York, prior to her arrival in the Islands in 2012. Her ministry here has included working as a pastoral associate at St. Augustine and helping out at the now-closed Damien and Marianne Heritage Center near the parish.
Patrick Downes contributed to this report.
