Katie Moore had a successful career as a speech therapist, but God had other plans for her. She said he was “relentless” in his call for her to become a religious sister. She answered that call on April 25, when she professed her solemn vows to become a Poor Clare sister.
Now known as Sister Chiara Marie of Jesus, of the Poor Clares, she did not take the call lightly.
“It was a very difficult decision when I thought God, who had called me to speech therapy in the first place, was asking me to give it up,” she said.
“I had everything that the world says you should have to be happy, and I was okay, but there was still something missing deeper down,” said Sister Chiara Marie. “So when I felt him calling, it took a long time, but I realized that this is what I was supposed to do.”
“God was calling my heart, but I didn’t know where. During my search for various communities, God gave me a deep sense of peace when I visited the Poor Clares, even though to me it didn’t seem like a good fit,” she continued. “I followed the peace he gave me and figured if I was wrong after I entered, then he would let me know.”
The decision to become a Poor Clare brought joy, so she made her permanent vows during the Solemn Profession Mass at the cloistered order’s Bethlehem Monastery in Barhamsville, in New Kent County. Bishop Barry C. Knestout was the main celebrant with ten priests as concelebrants.
During Mass, she professed vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and enclosure. She received a ring and crown of thorns to signify being the bride of Christ.
“Dear brothers and sisters, today the Church prays for this candidate, Sister Chiara Marie, as she commits to a life of consecration,” Bishop Knestout said during his homily. “She is your daughter, sister, relative and friend, joined to you by the ties of family and friendship.”
“God has called her to be more closely united to him and to be dedicated to the service of the Church and of mankind,” Bishop Knestout continued. “Her consecration is a call to greater fervor in spreading the kingdom of God and giving to the world the spirit of Christ.”
“Reflect on the good she will accomplish by her prayers and good works and the abundant blessings she will obtain from God for the Church, for society and for you,” said the bishop.
He added that Sister Chiara Marie “is by profession today a bride of Christ, which means being totally dedicated, united to God with single-hearted devotion.”
“Make your whole life reflect your vocation and your dignity. Our holy mother Church sees in you a chosen daughter within the flock of Christ. Through you, the Church’s motherhood of grace bears abundant fruit,” Bishop Knestout told Sister Chiara Marie during his homily.
After professing her vows, the gate which separates the nuns from the public was opened, and Sister Chiara Marie hugged her family. Although her family can visit her twice a year, a grate will separate her from her visitors. On her 25th anniversary, she can embrace them again.
Her father, Robert Moore, was “thrilled” that Sister Chiara Marie had made her vows and was officially a Poor Clare. Her mother, Bette Moore, was more bittersweet.
“[The ceremony] was happy and sad at the same time,” her mother said. “It’s definitely hard to give her up, but we know that this is what God wants.”
St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi founded the Order of St. Clare in 1212. The primary focus of the order is on prayer, contemplation, and a life of simplicity and obedience. As a Poor Clare, she will be able to offer prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of souls.
Faith has always had a role in Sister Chiara Marie’s life. When she was growing up, her family helped at church in various ways, and she attended Catholic school from fourth to twelfth grades. As an adult, she was involved in campus ministry at Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, and volunteered with youth and young adult ministries.
“Being Catholic was something I did, not who I was, but being involved in the various good environments helped me grow closer to God, which then changed me to be Catholic and live my faith,” she said.
Being in a large family helped prepare her for cloistered life, she said. As one of six children, she learned the importance of accepting different people, “which is helpful when you live so closely with sisters from all different walks of life, countries and different experiences.”
Before becoming a Poor Clare, Sister Chiara Marie was a member of Holy Trinity and Christ the King parishes, both in Norfolk, but she grew up in Dale City.
Sister Chiara Marie received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech-language pathology from ODU in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Because she had been in Army ROTC, she joined the Virginia Army National Guard as a medical service corps officer. While she served in the military part-time, she worked as a speech therapist in the private sector.
She began discerning religious life in 2008, started visiting different religious communities in 2010 and entered the Poor Clares as an aspirant in 2016.
She said her formation to be a Poor Clare transformed her.
“[God] has changed my heart, my perspective, my understanding of who he is and why he has called me into a deeper relationship with him,” she said.
“[I want] to belong to Jesus forever, to live, love, and serve him and his holy Catholic Church faithfully all the days of my life,” Sister Chiara Marie continued. “To be totally spent in his service. To give him my all.”