In Memoriam: Sister Mary Stella Barrientes, IWBS

After 70 years of consecrated life as a sister of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, Sister Mary Stella Barrientes, IWBS passed away on Thursday, June 21. Sister enjoyed a long and full life and will be dearly missed.  

Please pray for the eternal repose of her soul, and that God may comfort her family and community grieving her loss. May she rest in peace.

Rosary/Wake will be Thursday, June 28 at 7 p.m. at Incarnate Word Convent located at 5201 Lipes Blvd. in Corpus Christi. Mass of Resurrection will be on Friday, June 29 at  1 p.m. also at Incarnate Word Convent.

Sister Mary Stella was baptized Maria Valdomera and was born in Port Isabel, Texas, on Feb. 27, 1914, to Pedro Barrientes and Romana Valent Barrientes. The family of 14 children included three sets of twins. After graduation from high school, she kept books for the family business then worked as a secretary at Brownsville City Hall for five years. 

After entering the convent, she continued her education at Del Mar College, Incarnate Word College in San Antonio and Texas Southmost College in Brownsville. She professed first vows in 1948 and began a lengthy teaching career in south Texas. 

Sister Mary Stella taught at Sacred Heart and Cathedral Schools in Corpus Christi, at Our Lady of Victory School in Beeville and Immaculate Conception School in Goliad.  In the Brownsville Diocese, she taught at Incarnate Word Academy, Villa Maria High School, Immaculate Conception School and at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Port Isabel.  She also served in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Villa Maria.

During her years of teaching, Sister Mary Stella shared her talents in art and dance, especially in the annual Villa Maria/Incarnate Word Academy production of A Little Bit of Mexico, a cultural program that introduced Charro Days in Brownsville each year. Sister Mary Stella’s class of dancers always delighted the audience and stole the show with their agile dance steps, costumes and expressions.

In addition to her teaching ministry in Catholic schools, Sister Mary Stella taught in the diocesan Pastoral Institute, conducted reading and art workshops and gave first aid classes for the American Red Cross. Her volunteer work with the Red Cross also included entertaining handicapped children.  She sponsored the Sodality and the Legion of Mary, and coordinated CCD and the Catholic Youth Organization. In 1995, Sister Mary Stella was honored for teaching religion in Brownsville for 25 years.

“My desire has always been to teach children about God and to bring the good news of salvation in all areas of my ministry. While I was teaching in the ESL Program in Brownsville, children from different parts of Mexico came to learn better communication in the English language, and they showed a great love of music and art in their final presentations.” 

Sister found great joy in sharing her arts and crafts and love of culture with her students and with the other sisters. She continued dancing at community functions well into her later years. This year, on Feb. 28, Sister Mary Stella marked her 104th birthday, and still celebrated the joy of the dance in her smiling eyes. She has often exclaimed in wonder, “It doesn’t feel that I have lived this long!”