Cornwall on Hudson photo by Michael Nelson
March 28, 2024
Welcome! Click here to Login
News from Cornwall and Cornwall On Hudson, New York
News
Events
Donate
Our Town
Photos of Our Town
Education
Help Wanted
The Outdoors
Classifieds
Support Our Advertisers
About Us
Advertise with Us
Contact Us
Click to visit the
Official Village Site
Click to visit the
Official Town Site
Cornwall Public Library
Latest Newsletter
Search for a Business
Name:
Categories:

General News: Cornwall Woman Devotes Life to Christ

Jenna Cooper received the consecration rite from the bishop.
Jenna Cooper received the consecration rite from the bishop.
Jenna will lead a life of prayer as a consecrated virgin.
Jenna will lead a life of prayer as a consecrated virgin.
Jenna celebrates with friends from Seton Hall after the ceremony.
Jenna celebrates with friends from Seton Hall after the ceremony.
By Nancy Peckenham

When Jenna Cooper was 12 years old, a sixth-grade student who had just left St. Thomas of Canterbury School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, she says she saw her purpose in life and started down a path toward it that came full circle this past weekend.

Jenna realized at that young age that she wanted to lead a religious life in the Catholic Church and thought she would eventually join a religious order. But this past Saturday, Jenna, a 2003 graduate of Cornwall Central High School, became the youngest consecrated virgin in the United States, devoted to a life of prayer and dedication to Jesus Christ. In perhaps the oldest ritual in the Catholic Church, dating back to 200 A.D., Jenna was blessed for her devotion in the ceremony at Sacred Heart Church in Newburgh in front of dozens of family members and friends.

Jenna says she chose to become a consecrated virgin because she admired the faith of St. Agnes and St. Lucy, early religious martyrs who gave their lives up for God. Both women were consecrated virgins in a rite that was later abandoned by the church for a thousand years, only to be brought back in the 1960s during Vatican II.

When she first realized that she wanted to devote her life to Christ, Jenna thought she would likely join a convent. Throughout high school she remained devout, excelled in school and showed great talent in art. Looking back, she says it was very difficult because she didn’t fit in with the other students, some of whom picked on her because she was different. After graduation she attended an art college in Connecticut before transferring to Seton Hall, where she finally found other seminary students with a religious vocation that matched her own.

Once she turned 18, Jenna started visiting religious orders and searching for a place where she could practice her faith. None of them seemed right. Eventually, she met Father Luke Sweeney at Sacred Heart Church in Newburgh, a vocation director who told her about the rite for consecrated virgins. She knew right away this was the path for her.

After meeting with representatives of the Catholic Archdiocese in New York, Jenna was accepted. She says there are three other consecrated virgins in New York but they are a lot older than she is.

In her newly-consecrated role, Jenna will continue in her studies at Ave Maria College in Florida, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in theology. She’d like to return to work for the New York Archdiocese or get a doctorate.

Jenna’s life will also be full of prayer. She prays five times a day, focusing her prayers on the people of New York, and attends daily Mass. Her eyes sparkle with excitement when she talks about the life she has chosen, a life devoted to God. “I fell in love,” she said, simply. “God is a real person. Jesus is a real person.”

She also says that it was hard to give up the idea of having a family of her own but believes she is gaining more than she is giving up. “I know a lot of men who would make a good husband and father,” she said. “But I couldn’t give my heart to anyone but God.” Then, smiling shyly she added, “I suppose I can’t do much better than the king of the universe.”



Comments:

No comments have been posted.

Add a Comment:

Please signup or login to add a comment.



© 2024 by Cornwall Media, LLC . All Rights Reserved. | photo credit: Michael Nelson
Advertise with Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy