Back in May 2008. I wrote on TMV about elderly Sisters of the Holy Cross (near U of Notre Dame) who were turned away from the polling place and not allowed to vote in the Indiana primary because they had no photo IDs. (This Order of the nuns taught me as a child in the rural outback, or tried to….) And You Thought Sister Mary Ignatius Was Strict: Not Allowed to Vote In Indiana: The Nuns’ Story
But, last May, many of the nuns were not allowed to vote, had never driven a car in their lifetimes. Had never had a passport, or the passport had long ago expired when they turned 90 years old or so… and thus some felt a little frail to travel. So, no State or Federal photo ID, no voting.
But, ta-da! last week, enter the Mobile BMV …. though some of the sisters thought this acronym stands for Blessed Mother, Virgin and in some sense it likely does…. in the secular world, the acronym stands for Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
from the South Bend Trib, Margaret Fosmoe reports:
Sister Valeria Walker, 87, entered the bright blue trailer Friday afternoon and emerged 10 minutes later with her new Indiana state ID card in hand.
“They cut off my chin,” joked the Catholic sister with a laugh, peering at the photo on her card.
About 14 elderly Sisters of the Holy Cross took care of license branch business Friday in BMV2You, Indiana’s 40-foot-long license branch on wheels, which made a stop at Saint Mary’s College. Most of the nuns use walkers or canes…
Well, whew, another Horrible Miscarriage of Justice, averted just in the nick of time. Thank Goodness. Nuns 12, Bureaucracy 12. Love. Now that’s real ‘change’ you can actually see.
All the elderly nuns at the convent will now be able to vote Nov. 4.
And make no mistake; though they may be frail of body, each nun is still fierce and clear of mind… and dedicated to others through heart and spirit … one more unique group of souls on earth who are ‘last of their kind’…