Women in Black: Pax Christi Sisters Known in Front Royal

By Mary McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 10/24/02)

A group of five women from Mexico live in a small house in Front Royal. They wear identical black suits with white shirts and black ties. They wear matching glasses and black hats. Because of their appearance, they are often asked who they are, or who they work for.

These women are members of the Pax Christi Institute, founded by Mother Teresa Santoyo on July 19, 1969 in the diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas. Pax Christi is a Christian faith community whose purpose is to serve others both spiritually and apostolically. The sisters seek to spread the word of God to all mankind though social service acts and by teaching others to better understand the Mass.

The sisters have been sent to Christendom College by their superior to prepare them to serve the poor and spread God’s word.

Mother Teresa Santoyo still serves the poor in Corpus Christi by helping provide houses for needy families, and helping students with tutoring and scholarships. An algebra teacher in Corpus Christi now donates her time to the sisters to tutor children because the sisters helped her finish school.

Mother Teresa Santoyo also seeks to help the poor spiritually. She bases her work on the belief that if you give someone a loaf of bread, they will still be hungry tomorrow. She wants to also feed them God’s message, and give them hope.

The sisters living in Front Royal are Sisters Maria Guadalupe Licea (Superior), Maria Pueblito Corona, Ana Lilia Silva, Arcelia Martinez and Adelina Garcia. In addition to attending Christendom College full time, the sisters also minister to people who visit their convent, where they have lived for about four and a half years. Prior to that, the sisters resided on the campus of Christendom College.

The Pax Christi sisters in Front Royal have in the past ministered to the many Spanish-speaking people in the Winchester area. They also have assisted with Campus Ministry on the campus of Christendom.

After they graduate with degrees in theology, the sisters either go to Notre Dame Graduate School or return to Corpus Christi or to one of the many missions in the mountains of Mexico to serve the poor and teach others about the Mass. So far, five have graduated from Christendom.

The sisters are currently working on plans for the Dec. 12 celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the third year they celebrate this feast day at St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal. As part of the celebration, they have a 7 p.m. bilingual Mass followed by a reception. This year three boys, Arturo Colin, Raphael Gonzalez and Christopher Zotelo, will receive their first communion at the Mass.

Sister Ana Silva remarked on how the celebrations on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe have brought together the Hispanic and American cultures. Last year she could see from the choir loft of St. John the Baptist Church that the two groups of people, the Spanish-speaking and the English-speaking, intermingled. In a relatively conservative church, people were excited to see the Mariachi band.

This year, for the first time, the celebration will be bilingual. The choir, which is all Spanish-speaking, has been working hard to learn how to sing some of the hymns in English.

Hispanics come from the surrounding area to visit the sisters, and many that they helped in Winchester have continued to stay in contact. Many people visit at Christmas, a time when they would feel homesick for their families; they have found a surrogate family in the Pax Christi nuns.

On Christmas, when the sisters were spending time with some of these people, they expressed to the sisters how much their lives have changed for the better. They told the sisters that thanks to their help, they have attended confession and feel much closer to God.

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