Cornelia had one final talk with Pierce before he took major orders, pleading him to consider the breakup of the family and to return to normal family life. But he insisted on taking Holy Orders. In keeping with the requirements of canon law, Cornelia pronounced a vow of perpetual chastity, releasing her husband for ordination. In June, Pierce was ordained and said his first Mass, giving his daughter her first Holy Communion, while Cornelia sang in the choir. She was 36 and now had to work out her own future. The Cardinal Vicar of Rome assured her that her first duty was to care for 10-year-old Adeline and 5-year-old Frank and that she was under no obligation to become a nun. She was, however, invited to England to educate Catholic girls and the poor. With the help of Pierce, who was headed for England himself as chaplain to Lord Shrewsbury, she drew up a set of rules for a new religious congregation, which she wanted to call Society of the Holy Child Jesus. To avoid scandalizing English Protestants, Bishop Nicholas Wiseman put an end to the visitation permission that the couple had had in Rome. Correspondence would be their only contact in the future. To Cornelia's anguish, Wiseman also insisted that she send Adeline and Frank away to boarding school.