For much of the day, only the back of Sister Delphine Okoro’s black veil was visible as she speed-walked through her convent in preparation to give herself fully to God.

She scurried across its freshly mopped kitchen, down the hall and back to the chapel, and rode up and down the elevator several times. Every few minutes, her phone sprang to life and she transformed into a one-woman call center for her fellow nuns on the other end of the line. Sporadically, at wooden images and photos of Jesus Christ, she paused to take a breath and prayed for the energy to push on.

It was all in preparation for the ceremony to mark Okoro’s final vow, a lifelong commitment to chastity, poverty and obedience, and official inclusion into the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Arbutus — the oldest convent in the country to welcome women of African descent for almost the last two centuries.

Once routine, an elevation like Okoro’s is now a rarity.

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There were roughly 35,000 nuns in 2024 in the United States, compared to nearly 80,000 in 2000 and 102,000 in 1990, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a nonprofit studying Catholicism and affiliated with Georgetown University.

At their peak, the Oblate Sisters of Providence had more than 300 nuns. Today, there are 30 to 35 in Baltimore County, with the median age in the 80s, according to Sister Rita Michelle Proctor, the order’s former superior general. Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, which houses the sisters, their chapel and archives, is tucked away off Gun Road, surrounded by plush lawns. There are also a couple of Oblate Sisters who teach in Miami and Costa Rica.

Sisters great each other while preparing for Sister Delphine Okoro’s Rite of Perpetual Profession, at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
Sisters greet each other while preparing for Sister Delphine Okoro’s final vow. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)

Sister Marcia Hall, the order’s current superior general and former vocation director, said most of the interest in the Oblate Sisters has come from Africa throughout her 15-year tenure handling applicants. There are at least two women interested in beginning the process, but they’re trying to navigate the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Hall said.

Hall added that women have more professional options these days, and many parents are adamant about having grandkids, deterring some from pursuing the religious life. Several of the Oblate Sisters said making the lifelong commitment is an arduous process and finding out whether they truly hear “the call” to pursue a religious life isn’t always direct or linear.

Okoro said she knew she wanted to be a part of a dedicated religious life when she was very young. She grew up in Cameroon in a devoutly religious family, the sixth of eight children. She didn’t learn about the Oblate Sisters until 2003, when she was in her early 20s.

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Nor was she aware of their origin story, a moving account of how the convent’s founder, Mother Mary Lange, emigrated from Cuba to the U.S. and helped teach Black and brown children largely excluded from receiving formal education.

For a dozen years afterward, Okoro vacillated between becoming a nun and pursuing her studies. She earned several degrees, including a master’s in human services and marriage and family counseling, during that time. With her parents’ blessing, she embarked on her journey with the Oblates in 2018.

Sister Prudentia Nzeribe and Sister Francisca Nzeke pin fabric for an altar for Sister Delphine Okoro’s Rite of Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Wednesday, August 13, 2025. The fabrics were specifically shipped from Cameroon. Several of the religious ceremonies for nuns who are from other countries like to make sure their roots are represented as they take this step into religious life.
Nzeribe, left, and Sister Francis Nzeke pin fabric that was specifically shipped from Cameroon for Okoro’s profession ceremony. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Left to right, Azarielle Jordan, Dylan Dyson, and Madisyn Montgomery practice their dances for Sister Delphine Okoro's Rite of Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent in Arbutus, MD, Thursday, August 14, 2025.
From left, Azarielle Jordan, Dylan Dyson and Madisyn Montgomery from the Cardinal Shehan School practice their dances for Okoro’s ceremony. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Money flies through the air as Sister Delphine Okoro enters a lunch after her Rite of Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Thursday, August 14, 2025.
Okoro, center, celebrates with family, friends and fellow nuns. Many West African cultures throw money during celebrations to show support and wish good fortune to their loved ones. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)

The process would take years. Its climax arrived this month when she stood in front of the convent’s marble altar, covered with colorful Cameroonian fabrics, and made her lifelong pledge to serve alongside the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

The joyful crowd filled with women in various shades of veils, hats with braided fabrics and pearls, and blue headdresses with matching skirt wraps also included her fellow nuns, who welcomed Okoro’s achievement.

To accompany her final vow, Okoro received a ring presented by the Rev. Simeon Okezuo Nwobi, a bishop from Nigeria, after her best friend and religious director each read liturgy of Okoro’s choosing. Young children from the Cardinal Shehan School in Baltimore performed a dance in the center aisle of the pews.

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“It gives a lot of hope,” said Sister Mary Pauline Tamakloe, who took her final vow in 2023. “We are still praying for more.”

That sentiment is shared by their newest member.

“What I want to see is younger ladies behind me,” said Okoro, whose supporters flew in from Cameroon, Nigeria and Iowa to celebrate her milestone. “I want to turn back and see 15 ladies behind me.”

Currently, there’s only one in the wings.

Sister Stella Dela Avortrie is congratulated by other nuns attending her Rite of First Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
Avortrie is congratulated by fellow nuns attending her Rite of First Profession. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)

Sister Stella Dela Avortrie took her first vow a few days before Okoro’s ceremony. The Ghana native began her vocation with the Oblate Sisters in 2018. Avortrie said she admires the way the Oblate Sisters “relate to the people” and “let people feel their” presence. To reach Okoro’s level, Avortrie will need several more years of renewing her vows, continuing her day-to-day life in the convent under the guidance of a director.

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Back at Okoro’s reception, friends and family gathered, eating African dishes and throwing money into the air to show their joy.

“I’m very grateful for who she is now. This is happiness,” her brother Christian Chukwubueze Okoro said.

He still vividly remembers the young girl who loved sweets and going to the church. Her family didn’t used to want her to be in religious life, he said. But her persistence changed their minds and they’ve settled on “what will be, will be,” Christian Okoro added.

Sister Delphine Okoro walks down the aisle with her brother Christian Chukwubueze Okoro during her Rite of Perpetual Profession at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Thursday, August 14, 2025.
Sister Delphine Okoro walks down the aisle with her brother Christian Chukwubueze Okoro during her profession ceremony. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)
Sister Prudentia Nzeribe and Sister Delphine Okoro FaceTime family while setting up for Sister Okoro’s Rite of Perpetual Profession,  at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent, in Arbutus, MD, Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
Nzeribe and Okoro share a moment at the altar during preparations for Okoro’s ceremony. (Jessica Gallagher/The Banner)

What’s next? Sister Delphine Okoro wants to help the order’s vocation department, share her story and guide young women and men who are curious about religious life.

“By walking with young people, listening to their questions and meeting them where they are, I hope to open pathways for them to encounter God’s voice,” she said.