Hart-felt

Sunday night will be the 2012 edition of the Academy Awards and this year an aging woman will walk the red carpet in an unusual outfit, as the "star" of a documentary called God is Bigger Than Elvis.

In the film Loving You Dolores Hart was the first actress to kiss Elvis Presley onscreen, making her the envy of millions. She went on to perform in several more films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Where the Boys Are and Come Fly with Me. She was in a total of ten films playing opposite some big stars.

In 1961 she played St. Clare in Francis of Assisi. That year she met Pope John XXIII, telling him, "I'm Dolores Hart, the actress playing Clare." The Pope said to the young actress, "No, you are Clare!" Surprising her friends and family, including her fiance, it was just a few years later that she entered the Regina Laudis Benedictine Abbey in Connecticut, taking her final vows there in 1970. One article about Mother Dolores has the headline "where the boys aren't."

As a Benedictine Sister she has lived a very quiet, structured life, praying the Divine Office every day and laboring in the fields and workshops. The community is very self-sufficient and has its own 400 acre farm, pottery and foundry. Through the years, Mother Dolores has been instrumental in developing the abbey's connection with the community through the arts.

I'm not sure why but this story tickles my fancy. Its refreshing to hear of someone who turns away from the allure of Hollywood and fame to seek a spiritual vocation.

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