Sister M. Consolata (Kristin) Crews, a 1991 graduate of St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, was among eight women who made their final profession of vows as Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, during Mass Aug. 15 at St. Mary Church in Alton, Ill.

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick R. Crews of Ventura, and a member of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Sister Crews is a 1995 graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in 1998, and currently serves in the Office of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

During the celebration, with Bishop George J. Lucas of Springfield, Ill., presiding, two novices made their first profession of vows, and two postulants were received into the novitiate. The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George were founded in 1869 by Mother M. Anselma Bopp in Thuine, Germany, and have served in the U.S. since 1923.

Fr. Kevin McCracken celebrates 25 years of priesthood
As a sixth grader at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School in Montebello, 12-year-old Kevin McCracken wrote an essay expressing his desire to someday become a priest.

On Aug. 26, that 40-year-old essay was on display (along with many photos) at St. Rose of Lima Church, Simi Valley, where Vincentian Father McCracken was honored for his 25 years of ordained ministry, and 20 years of service at St. Rose of Lima.

After studies at St. Mary's Vincentian Seminary in Santa Barbara and DeAndreis Institute in Illinois, Father McCracken was ordained to the priesthood at Miraculous Medal by Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Shubsda in June 1982. He served as an associate pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Phoenix, before earning a Master of Arts in Theology (in liturgical studies) at the University of Notre Dame.

He joined the faculty of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo in 1987, and has served as a professor of liturgy and homiletics as well as chair of the Theology and Religious Studies Program. He is currently chair of St. John's Liturgy and Homiletics Program.

Soon after joining St. John's, Father McCracken was invited to celebrate weekend Masses at St. Rose. He also presides at Masses at Blessed Junipero Serra Church, Camarillo.

Thomas Aquinas College ranked among top liberal arts colleges
Thomas Aquinas College of Santa Paula was again ranked in the top tier among the nation's liberal arts colleges in the 2008 edition of U.S. News & World Report's annual college guide, "America's Best Colleges," released on August 17.

Thomas Aquinas College's ranking is 83rd out of 106 schools in the top tier --- one of only seven liberal arts colleges statewide to have been ranked in the top tier, along with Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Occidental, Pitzer and Westmont.

The college was also placed by U.S. News in the top 25 liberal arts colleges for the relatively low debt that its graduates incur in the course of four years at the school. Moreover, in the category of "Highest Proportion of Classes under 20 Students,"

Thomas Aquinas College tied for first place with the American Jewish University (California) in having 100 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. It was the only Catholic institution in the country to be singled out for recognition by U.S. News in this category.