Introduction: In 1966, Aquinas Weber, OP, was named prioress of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids. Elected to her General Council were Sisters Letitia Van Agtmael, James Rau, Euphrosine Sullivan, and Norbert Vangsness. Secretary General was Sister Thomas Anne Miller, and bursar was Sister Mary Faith Mahoney. These women would help Sister Aquinas guide the Congregation through the coming, sometimes radical, change. They possessed a wide range of leadership experiences, some having been school principles or college teachers, and in the coming years they would call upon all their skills and work together to guide the Dominican Sisters through the uncharted waters of the post-Vatican II world.
In Her Own Words: Vatican II Reflections
“Before Vatican II, we thought things were pretty much black and white with nothing in between, and I think as John XXIII said, with opening up the windows, letting in fresh air, it became a time of challenge and transformation. We took Perfectae Caritatis, Renewal of Religious Life, seriously. We had to consider how we could make the changes that were being advocated because we had more than one camp: those who wanted to keep things the way they were and those who were restless for change. You had to balance those to campus and that was the hard part. You were being bombarded from both sides, don’t do this, do this. Others were saying we have done this forever and we cannot change.”
“But one thing we said, at the end of all the changes… is that we stay together.”
Mother Victor Flannery and Sister Aquinas Weber. When Sr. Aquinas was elected prioress in 1966 at the age of 43, she was taking over leadership for Mother Victor who had led the Congregation for 18 years. The changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council are reflected in Mother Victor’s traditional habit and Sister Aquinas’ modified garb.
Source: “Going Where We Are Needed, A Life of Sister Aquinas Weber, OP” by Gary Eberle. Published by Aquinas College, 2013.
