Carmelite Sisters

In all of the excitement and turmoil that goes on in Phnom Penh and Cambodia and the world, the Carmelite Monastery in Phnom Penh is something of an island of quiet and serenity. The sisters go about their daily routine of prayer and work mostly oblivious to all that is happening outside their convent walls.

That serenity was disturbed recently as a young woman professed her first vows there in the process of becoming a Carmelite Sister.

Bishop Olivier presided over the ceremony. Before the mass, he conferred with the superior of the Phnom Penh Carmelites about the order of the service.
Quite a large number of people from Phnom Penh came to monastery–about twelve miles outside the city–to celebrate the profession with the sisters.
Sr. Marina (3rd left, with white veil) is a young woman from Korea who made her first profession at the ceremony.
The Korean Church has been very involved in and supportive of the Cambodian Church. There are quite a few Korean sisters and priests in the country and many of them came for the ceremony. Here some of them gather for a photograph with Sr. Marina’s parents.