A 60-year-old teacher at St. Stephen School in Monterey Park took perpetual vows of chastity, poverty and obedience with the Sisters in the Society of the Holy Child Jesus during a Mass Nov. 25 at the New Sharon Chapel in Rosemont, Pa.

As part of the ritual, Sister Kathleen Dullea signed handwritten vows, was presented with a ring that was blessed by her students, and was blessed by Holy Child Sisters who taught her as a child.

The Mass marks the beginning of Sister Dullea's life as a fully vowed nun, and the end of seven years of preparation, study and service. She joins more than 400 Holy Child Sisters serving around the world as educators, health care workers, spiritual directors, social workers, pastoral administrators and counselors, and lawyers.

In November 2002, the Society of the Holy Child Jesus missioned Sister Dullea to the Logsdon School at Maryvale in Rosemead, where she served as a special education teacher. Since 2004, she has taught middle school science at St. Stephen School.

"I always loved the children I taught," says Sister Dullea. "Now, however, as a sister, I am imbued with the Holy Child spirit, and I teach with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. I also emphasize and instill the values of love and reverence for all, as Cornelia Connelly, the foundress of the Society, encouraged all Holy Child Sisters to do."

"This certainly is not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life," she admits. In 1999, after a 30-year career as a teacher in New Jersey, she was preparing to retire, but noted that "something just didn't feel right." At the encouragement of a spiritual director, she reconnected with Holy Child Sisters who had educated her as a child.

During a visit to the Holy Child Convent in Rosemont, she says, "When I saw the Holy Child Statue, the same one I had grown up with in school, I felt something deep inside that I had never before felt. I knew in just that instant what God was calling me to."

Founded in 1846 by Philadelphia-born Cornelia Connelly, the Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international community of women religious, with education has been at the heart of its mission. Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus serve today in teaching, spirituality, health care, social work, pastoral care and administration, and law. In the U.S., the Society sponsors 15 schools, Rosemont College and several social service organizations, located on four continents and in 16 states