Sister Mary Paul Hon, IWBS, 60 years of profession

Born June 27, 1938, in Brownsville to Marion Edward Hon and Pilar Padilla Hon, Sister Mary Paul (Marjorie Hon) was taught by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and graduated from Villa Maria High School in Brownsville. She was challenged to serve in ministry by her pastor, who assigned her to teach all ages in religious education before she entered the convent. In September 1958 she entered the congregation and made her first profession of vows in August 1960.

Sister Mary Paul earned her bachelor’s degree in education from St. Edward’s University, Austin and her master’s in administration from Loyola University, New Orleans. She also studied at Texas A&I University, Kingsville, and St. Mary’s University, San Antonio. Sister taught and served as principal at Incarnate Word Academy, Corpus Christi, and Villa Maria High School, Brownsville, and in Catholic schools in the dioceses of Brownsville and Corpus Christi. Being assigned to administration after only five years of teaching, she realized that learning is a lifelong experience and she is grateful for all the opportunities to grow in ministry and in educational opportunities.
 
Sister Mary Paul found another opportunity to grow when she was approached to use her personal gifts and straightforward manner in prison ministry.  When she heard a request for help from Deacon George Wiest, then chaplain at McConnell State Prison in Beeville, she answered the call and for many years prepared diligently for her ten years of service to the imprisoned.  She was recognized by Bishop Michael Mulvey in 2016 with the Evangelii Gaudium medal, which acknowledges those whose lives radiate the joy of Gospel living and recognition of a way of life. The bishop cited her ministry in the prison as a snapshot of Sister Mary Paul’s focus on evangelization.
 
Answering the call to share God’s love made incarnate in Jesus, Sister Mary Paul has brought that love to the catholic school classroom, to mission work in Mexico, to her service in the congregation, and service to the diocesan and civic communities. In the congregation she served as general counselor, chapter delegate, and committee and commission chair and member.
 
Her reflections on her experience in ministry include an appreciation of and gratitude for her time in education and administration. Sister Mary Paul found the youth “accepting, open, perceptive, and full of surprises.”  She enjoyed her work with parents, teachers, and staff as a team effort to evangelize and proclaim the Incarnate Word.