Mary Kelly kneels before Bishop Taylor, who bestows her with a ring and the Book of Hours, moments before Father Juan Guido, pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, places a veil on Kelly’s head during Mass at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock July 6. (Katie Zakrzewski)
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After 8 years, virgin consecrated at Cathedral Mass

Only 5,000 consecrated virgins live in the world, and three of them are in the Diocese of Little Rock. 

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor blessed the newest consecrated virgin, Mary Kelly, during a Mass July 6 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock. Bishop Taylor noted in his homily that consecrated virgins come from different walks of life. Some are lawyers and firefighters — and some are teachers like Kelly. 

Kelly, 47, originally from Wichita, Kan., has a master’s degree in viola performance. In 2009, she moved to Los Angeles and worked at the Pasadena Conservatory in the Suzuki program. While there, a priest told her about a virgin who was being consecrated at the Los Angeles cathedral. 

Kelly attended the consecration in 2015 and was struck by the overwhelming importance and beauty of the vocation.

“For me, that vocation was where God was calling me,” she said. 

Consecrated virginity is one of the oldest vocations in the Church. Many notable saints from the early Church were consecrated virgins, such as St. Cecilia, St. Clare of Assisi and St. Margaret of Hungary. 

Canon 604 states that a consecrated virgin is “consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the diocesan bishop consecrates (her) according to the approved liturgical rite.”

Church promulgation for this rite for laywomen came May 31, 1970. When a virgin is consecrated, she renews her promise of virginity to God, vowing that she belongs only to Christ. While consecrated virgins continue to live in the world, they are financially responsible for themselves. They acknowledge the diocesan bishop as their guide and pray for their diocese and clergy. 

“The fact that you’re truly marrying Christ, you are a bride — the vocation in itself is that you are the bride of Christ,” Kelly said. “And there’s a simplicity in that. And, as a bride of Christ, your part of that is praying for the Church and praying for your parish, specifically being involved in your parish. In the vocation, you don’t have to do a certain thing within the parish. It’s whatever the Holy Spirit calls you to. And so that’s what I have been doing.”

In 2016, Kelly reached out to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to start formation, but the diocese was in the process of hiring a new vicar for women religious. She waited two years, talking with a spiritual director to help her start formation. 

In the meantime, Kelly began looking for opportunities to move to northwest Arkansas to live near her sister, Jennifer, and her sister’s nine children.

Kelly was attending a music festival in Los Angeles when she met a teacher from Bentonville West High School, who lived 15 minutes from her sister. The teacher encouraged Kelly to apply for a position at the high school as an orchestra director.  

In 2019, Kelly moved to Fayetteville; just six months later, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles ended its consecrated virgin program.

“Because they were such a big diocese, they couldn’t vet the women … and make sure they were prepared…,” Kelly said. “So if I had stayed in Los Angeles, this would not have happened. So it’s very clear to me that God knows what he’s doing.”

Kelly, a parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville, was sidetracked in her formation again by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2022, Kelly reached out to the Diocese of Little Rock to start the process. Her formation director was Dr. Theresa Marshall, a consecrated virgin based in the Diocese of Lansing, Mich. She would meet with Marshall monthly to discuss the vocation, assigned readings and retreats. 

Marshall told Arkansas Catholic, “As time went by and (Kelly) became clearer about her call to the vocation as a consecrated virgin, she saw what it means to live in the world as a vessel to bring the love and power of the heart of Christ to the world.

“It is a radical call in a sexualized world dominated by anti-Catholic motives, especially today. The consecrated virgin must be deeply in love with Jesus as he is for us. She must set her heart on Jesus, who has set his heart on her.”

Kelly’s formation took her to many places to visit with other consecrated virgins and observe their lifestyles. 

“It’s such a grace that the bishop said yes, that he was willing to do this because it is an unusual vocation,” Kelly said. “And part of living in the world is that I have to take care of myself… You are a bride of Christ, but as a bride, you do have to trust that he will provide.”

In his homily, Bishop Taylor said the vocation of consecrated virgins is important in the Church. 

“You may recall that St. Paul declares that women who remain in an unmarried state are free to devote themselves entirely to the things of the Lord,” Bishop Taylor said. “And he alludes to the Church as the bride of Christ … And in this, the Church has upheld the virginity of the Blessed Mother as a model for women who give themselves to the Lord in perpetual virginity.”

For Kelly, the vocation of consecrated virginity has made her feel complete.

“Once I went to that consecration (in Los Angeles), and I saw this woman saying yes to Christ, saying yes to someone in a complete way … that’s what I had desired,” she said. “And I just never felt like I could give a complete yes to someone here. And once I started learning about this vocation and seeing the bridal aspect of it, I started to understand my relationship with Christ in a whole new dimension.” 

Understanding Christ’s love through the vocation has also deepened Kelly’s faith.

“Before, I guess I would say that … I understood my relationship with the Father. I understood very clearly my relationship with the Holy Spirit … And with Christ, I’d experienced Christ. But it was like a friendship. … Christ was always there, but … I knew I was missing something in my understanding of my relationship with him. 

“And then when I started learning about this vocation and started understanding the spousal relationship and being a bride of Christ, that’s when I was like, now I understand. Now I see that my relationship with Christ is what I’ve always desired.”

Katie Zakrzewski

Katie Zakrzewski joined Arkansas Catholic as associate editor in 2023 after working in local media and the environmental sector. A member of St. Mary Church in North Little Rock, she recently completed her master’s degree in public service from the Clinton School.

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