The Carmelite Sisters established a monastery in Cambodia about ten years ago, from a motherhouse in Korea. They have a community of seven sisters, and today the youngest of them professed her final vows as a sister in an impressive ceremony. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler witnessed her vows for the church. The new monastery is about ten miles outside of Phnom Penh. |
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| These are some of the first guests arriving at the Carmelite monastery for the 9:00 AM ceremony. |  |
| Four of the five bishops in Cambodia were present for the profession of the vows. From left to right are Bishop Anthonysamy, the bishop of Kampong Cham; Bishop Emile Destombs, retired bishop of Phnom Penh; Fr. Gustavo Adrian; and Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, bishop of Phnom Penh. |  |
| The Carmelite monastery has a large chapel which can accommodate about 250 people and has a large sanctuary which was ideal for this ceremony. |  |
| In the first part of the ceremony, Sr. Cecelia participated from a spot inside the sisters' cloister, on the edge of the sanctuary. |  |
| At one point the whole community sang the litany of the saints, and during the litany, Sr. Cecelia lay prostrate on the floor before the main altar. Two of the sisters arranged a large white sheet over her body, almost like a symbolic shroud. |  |
| After the ceremony, the newly professed Sr. Cecelia of the Cross greeted well-wishers and received flowers and gifts. Her mother and brother came from Korea for the ceremony. |  |
| Outside the chapel after the profession, Fr. Cho Hae In, a priest from Korea, talked with Bill Burns and Sr. Mary Little. Hae In spent several years working in Cambodia as part of the Maryknoll community. He has known Sr. Cecelia since they were in college. |  |
| Because of their strict rule and cloister, the Carmelite Sisters did not participate, but all the guests who attended the ceremony were invited to a lunch under a tent set up on the monastery grounds. |  |