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A local Ohio woman appealed to Bishop Earl Fernandes, of the Diocese of Columbus, to establish the Ordo Viduarum (Order of Widows) for vocations of widowed women dedicated to serve the Church.
The Catholic Times reported that Cecilia Cortes-Peck, lost both her husband and only son, which inspired her to enter this new vocation which aided in her own personal healing.
She grew up in a large Catholic family in the Philippines, and immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. The Cortes-Peck married and settled in Maryland with her husband, where she offered her time to volunteering at her parish and supporting the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Missions.
Then, in 2011, her life took a sad turn, when her husband died of brain cancer. Another tragedy struck when only six years after, their only son, Nathan, age 30, a raider in the U.S. Marine Corps, died in a car accident.
Dealing with grief, Cortes-Peck looked to her faith and found support in her devotion to the Blessed Mother. A deep spiritual encounter earlier at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City became a moment of grace for her.
“If it were not for my faith, I would not have known what to do with my life,” she told The Catholic Times. “All I knew was to stay with her…to persevere in prayer.”
It was in Mexico that the Blessed Mother’s presence became palpable, and she said prepared her for the difficulties that were to come.
First, Cortes-Peck thought her calling would be to enter religious life as a contemplative sister. However, following visits to two communities of religious sisters, she discerned that her vocation was not in joining a convent but as a widow.
She then researched the historical reality of widows serving the Church, with saints like the prophetess Anna, who lived a life of prayer at the temple, and early Church Fathers like St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, who spoke of the spiritual role of widows. St. Paul, in his letter to St. Timothy (1 Timothy 5:3-16), also wrote about widows.
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“I was convicted, first and foremost, in my mind, heart and soul that in order to please God, my preoccupation must be only of Him, with Him, in Him, for Him and through Him,” Cortes-Peck said. “I am to satisfy only His call, His thirst, His calling for me. At the same time, I had to learn to stay out of the way and let God’s plan unfold in the best way it can.”
Cortes-Peck moved to Ohio in 2022 at the invitation of the Children of Mary, a religious community near Newark, to continue her discernment. Later, she wrote to Bishop Fernandes in late 2022 about her desire to establish an order for widows.
“I placed my trust in the hands of God that, if this is His will for me and my vocation, He will help me accomplish it for His glory,” Cortes-Peck said.
Combining prayer and discernment, she and other widows were granted an official decree establishing the Ordo Viduarum on October 16, 2024, the feast of St. Hedwig, who was also a widow.
Father Paul Keller, OP, director of the Diocese’s Office of Divine Worship, is their guide as Cortes-Peck and five other women entered a period of formation. They now meet monthly for at least two years, guided by spiritual directors and adhering to a rule of life that includes a vow of perpetual chastity, a commitment to daily prayer, and participation in Marian devotions.
As a consecrated widow in the order, the widows will live their consecration as a continuation of their marriage vows, this time as a “renewed marriage bond with the Lord.” Through a liturgical rite of blessing, they will be consecrated of faith, participating in the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, and receiving the sacraments regularly.
A consecrated widow must be at least 60 years old, aside from particular cases, and have been united in a canonically valid marriage and received the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
Before their consecration, a proposal to live as a consecrated widow must be formally expressed in writing to the bishop.
The role also highlights Mary, as the widows will model their lives after her as “Virgin, Mother, Spouse, and Widow.”
“We will be vowed to this way of life,” Cortes-Peck explained, adding that the vocation comes with “responsibilities to serve the Church.”Source: https://catholictimescolumbus.org/news/hannah-heil/diocese-establishes-order-of-widows
“I was convicted, first and foremost, in my mind, heart and soul that in order to please God, my preoccupation must be only of Him, with Him, in Him, for Him and through Him,” Cortes-Peck said. “I am to satisfy only His call, His thirst, His calling for me. At the same time, I had to learn to stay out of the way and let God’s plan unfold in the best way it can.”
Cortes-Peck moved to Ohio in 2022 at the invitation of the Children of Mary, a religious community near Newark, to continue her discernment. Later, she wrote to Bishop Fernandes in late 2022 about her desire to establish an order for widows.
“I placed my trust in the hands of God that, if this is His will for me and my vocation, He will help me accomplish it for His glory,” Cortes-Peck said.
Combining prayer and discernment, she and other widows were granted an official decree establishing the Ordo Viduarum on October 16, 2024, the feast of St. Hedwig, who was also a widow.
Father Paul Keller, OP, director of the Diocese’s Office of Divine Worship, is their guide as Cortes-Peck and five other women entered a period of formation. They now meet monthly for at least two years, guided by spiritual directors and adhering to a rule of life that includes a vow of perpetual chastity, a commitment to daily prayer, and participation in Marian devotions.
As a consecrated widow in the order, the widows will live their consecration as a continuation of their marriage vows, this time as a “renewed marriage bond with the Lord.” Through a liturgical rite of blessing, they will be consecrated of faith, participating in the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours, and receiving the sacraments regularly.
A consecrated widow must be at least 60 years old, aside from particular cases, and have been united in a canonically valid marriage and received the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
Before their consecration, a proposal to live as a consecrated widow must be formally expressed in writing to the bishop.
The role also highlights Mary, as the widows will model their lives after her as “Virgin, Mother, Spouse, and Widow.”
“We will be vowed to this way of life,” Cortes-Peck explained, adding that the vocation comes with “responsibilities to serve the Church.”
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