Sr Thérèse of the Sacred Heart, a Carmelite nun at the Monastery of the Annunciation at Thicket Priory near York made her solemn profession on 8th December 2007, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Sr Thérèse was born Clare Wilkinson and lived in Warrington, Lancashire, before entering the Carmelites, one of the ancient religious orders of the Roman Catholic Church. Clare first made contact with the Carmelites whilst obtaining a degree in Business Operation and Control when she accompanied the Salford University Chaplain, Fr Ian Kelly, to pick up some furniture. Her contact with the community of a dozen enclosed nuns deepened, and she entered ‘Carmel’ in 2002 aged 24, taking the religious name of Thérèse after the much loved Carmelite Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

After sharing the life of a Discalced Carmelite nun for a number of years, Sr Thérèse and her community discerned that God was calling her to commit herself to God permanently in this way. Solemn profession is Thérèse’s public statement of her desire to follow God’s call, as well as the Church’s formal acceptance of that desire and its promise to support her.

At the Profession Mass Sr Thérèse’s parents Chris and Arthur, and her two brothers Paul and Stephen, were joined by a coach load of parishioners, family and friends. Also in attendance were many other well-wishers, including representatives of other religious houses in the York area and ecumenical guests. Particularly well represented were the other branches of the Carmelite Family present in the city, namely Carmelite Friars, Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters, and lay people from the Carmelite Spirituality Group which meets regularly in York.

In his homily Fr Ian Kelly noted that the journey which had brought Sr Thérèse to this day began when her parents took young Clare for baptism. It is this baptismal commitment to Christ which is deepened in religious profession. Fr Ian spoke of the rich spiritual wisdom of the Carmelite tradition, and how in the monastery at Thicket – inspired by the vision of St Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) – the sisters are invited to listen for God’s word in silence, and to sing God’s praise.

When asked by Fr Ian what she asked of God and the Church, Sr Thérèse responded: ‘I ask for God’s merciful love, the poverty of the Order and the companionship of the sisters in this monastery’.

As is the tradition, Sr Thérèse made her vows into the hands of the Mother Prioress, Sr Mary of Carmel. At age 30, Sr Thérèse is the youngest member of the community, whose oldest sister is aged 87.

The outward symbol of Sr Thérèse’s solemn profession is a black veil. This was presented – in place of the white one she has worn until now – by Fr Tony Lester, Prior Provincial of the British Province of Carmelites. As he gave the veil to Sr Thérèse he said: ‘Receive this as a sign of your consecration, and keep unbroken faith with your heavenly bridegroom. It proclaims that you belong entirely to Christ and to his mystical body, the Church’.

At the heart of a Carmelite nun’s life is a deep relationship with God in prayer. This is supported by manual work, and Sr Thérèse’s daily task in the monastery is to despatch the altar breads by which the nuns make a living. This entails contact with people all around the world. She is also involved in helping people who are discerning a vocation to the religious life.

Further details of the celebration and of the life of the sisters at Thicket can be found online at: www.carmelite.org/thicket/

Johan Bergström-Allen

Carmelite Projects & Publications Office, York