Serving the poor has always
driven Mother Maria

Mother Maria Elva Reyes, a sister with the congregation of the Pax Christi Institute, has felt “very blessed” for as long as she can remember. She will celebrate her golden jubilee with a host of friends and family on July 16 at the Pax Christi Liturgical Chapel and will continue her faith-filled journey, daily, by reciting the prayer of a Pax Christi sister, “Jesus lives in me, I live in Jesus, Jesus and I are one.”

Mother Maria was born on Feb. 17, 1947 to Pedro Reyes and Guadalupe Larios Reyes in a small town called Tecalitlán in Mexico. In Tecalitlán her father owned a general store. There was a church, a sugar cane processing plant and squared off blocks of houses, but very few opportunities for work or to get an education, so the Reyes family moved to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua when she was just five-years-old.

Her parents were very religious and took her to church regularly. One time, after Mass, they had an announcement that anyone between the ages of six and ten could register to become a member of the group St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. As they were leaving the church, she insisted on registering. She recalled what her mother said, “What do you mean–you don’t even know how to read.”

“They didn’t ask me if I knew how to read, they said if I was between six and ten, I can register. I am six and I want to register,” little Maria told her mother.

This was a formative time in her life. With adult supervision, she took clothes to people living in the slums and children’s homes; visited the sick in the hospital; and began reading small books about the saints. “I got the calling back then, but I didn’t know it,” she said. “I was attracted to helping the Church and people…I thought everybody wanted that.”

When a priest approached another volunteer group that she was a part of and asked if any of the volunteers would like to continue to help the poor, but to do it for a lifetime she was surprised to find she was the only one to raise her hand. The priest took her aside and told her that what she wanted was a different kind of life. And so, at the age of 14, Maria became an aspirant and lived with the sisters of Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor.

Her family was reluctant to let her go. Her mother said she was too active, because she liked to dance and sing. Her sister thought she was crazy to want to leave her parents’ house, and her father worried that she was too young. Ultimately they all wanted the best for her and so she chose to follow her heart.

At 16, she knew she wanted to become one of the sisters. Between the ages of 16-19 she went to live in the motherhouse in Puebla, Mexico where she trained as a novitiate. She professed first vows on June 12, 1966.

Her first assignment was in Laredo, Texas under Mother Teresa Santoyo who was then mother superior. Mother Teresa and the sisters were building a better life for poor children, but a chasm had developed between the superior general of their congregation and Mother Teresa was asked to leave.

The sisters under her direction were given a choice to follow her or to continue to serve with the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Poor. “I saw her [Mother Teresa] as a role model…serving the poor in this way is what I came for,” Mother Maria said. “Mother Teresa was one of the most faithful persons I knew and she was given a lot of responsibility at a young age.”

Mother Teresa and six others, including Sister Maria, were invited to Corpus Christi. “Bishop Drury told us, ‘…we are living a historic moment. We are seeing the birth of a new religious community and Mother Teresa will be the head of that,’” Mother Maria recalled.

Mother Teresa founded the Pax Christi Sisters on July 19, 1969 in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. In the 1970’s the Pax Christi Sisters continued their charism of helping the poor and started a home for girls from the basement of the cathedral. Eventually they moved into a house on a large tract of land in Calallen and they were able to raise some of the girls and help families as well. Mother Teresa believed that every member of the family deserved respect and dignity, so they counseled family members and helped some of the girls transition back into their parent’s homes.

The children’s home for girls closed due to new government regulations requiring complete disclosure. “Mother Teresa refused,” Mother Maria said. “She was offering counseling to parents and felt she would be violating their confidentiality…”

Mother Maria attended school at Del Mar College and then Sam Houston State University for a bachelor’s degree in social work. She received a master’s in sociology at Our Lady of the Lake University, then a master’s and a doctorate degree in theology at the Oblate School of Theology.

At the request of Mother Teresa, Sister Maria was appointed superior general of the Pax Christi Institute in 2006. The Pax Christi Liturgical Center began as an inspirational vision of Mother Teresa, but became a reality under the direction of Mother Maria and the Pax Christi sisters. The first retreat was held in 2014.

Mother Maria said the Pax Christi sisters have always evangelized and their vision continues to grow as they teach people the meaning and importance of the Mass and, through their Charism, of becoming one with Christ.