What does it mean if someone has "OPA" after their name?

OPA notes that a person is a Dominican Associate, which means they share in the life and mission of a Congregation of Dominican women religious, in my case, the Dominican Sisters of Peace.

Dominican Associates are Christian women and men, married and single, clergy and laypeople, who feel drawn to the Dominican spirit and are called to live out the Congregation’s mission: to praise, to bless, and to preach. Associates do not take religious vows. Instead, they make a commitment to walk in partnership with vowed sisters, sharing the mission and charism of the Dominican family in their own lives, families, parishes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities.

Associates participate in the life of the Congregation in many ways and help extend the Dominican presence into the everyday worlds where they live and work. They come from all walks of life. Whether attorneys, homemakers, teachers, business owners, artists, or factory workers, Associates strive to live intentionally as Dominicans, bringing the Good News and working for peace through their work, their creativity, and their lives.

Who are Dominicans?

For more than 800 years, the Order of Preachers has existed for one simple and profound purpose: to proclaim the Gospel so that every person may come to know the love of God.

St. Dominic de Guzmán founded the Order in 1216 after encountering communities in southern France who believed the physical world was evil and created by a false god. Dominic recognized the need for compassionate, well-formed preachers who could speak truth with clarity, mercy, and love, helping to reconcile those who had drifted away from the faith.

Following Dominic’s example, Dominicans today commit themselves to prayer, study, community life, and preaching. Their shared life of contemplation allows them to offer the fruits of that prayerful reflection to the wider world, proclaiming the Gospel wherever they are called.

Throughout history, Dominicans have enriched the Church through the lives and witness of saints such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Martin de Porres. Today, the global Dominican family includes friars, sisters, nuns, associates, and laypeople, all united in a shared mission of preaching God’s love.

Who are the Dominican Sisters of Peace?

The Dominican Sisters of Peace are vowed Catholic Sisters and members of the Order of Preachers who dedicate their lives to peace-making in all they do and wherever they serve. Jesus’ words from the Gospel of John, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:27), shape both their prayer and their mission.

Together with Dominican Associates, the Sisters work to help all people experience peace. Guided by the Gospel and the teachings of the Church, they seek to build a world that is more welcoming and less divided, more compassionate and less violent, more respectful of creation and less wasteful of Earth’s gifts.

Their mission is to bear witness to the Gospel and to lead others to Christ through prayer, ministry, and daily life. Dominican Sisters of Peace and Associates serve in many areas, including education, health care, pastoral ministry, spirituality, prison ministry, the arts, and care of creation.

The Dominican Sisters of Peace were formed in 2009 through the union of seven congregations of Dominican women religious, with an eighth congregation joining in 2012. Today, hundreds of Sisters and Associates serve across the United States and beyond, continuing a shared commitment to peace, justice, and the preaching of God’s love.