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Sister Martha Ann Snapka, IWBS, honoree Janie Barrera, unidentified guest, María Antonietta Berriozábal and Mary Baez Chavez dance to “The Cotton Eyed Joe” at the conclusion of the Benitia Humanitarian Award banquet.
Carol Baass Sowa | Today's Catholic |
SAN ANTONIO • Behind the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence’s (MCDP) annual Benitia Humanitarian Award is the spirit of love exemplified by their foundress, Sister Benitia Vermeersch, CDP, a spirit recognized in this year’s honoree, Janie Barrera, founding president and CEO of ACCION Texas-Louisiana. In Barrera’s honor (and in a play on words), the theme of the Feb. 5 award banquet held at the Omni Hotel was “AMOR en ACCION.”
Describing the MCDPs as “a religious congregation of bilingual, bicultural women, with a great ability to bridge cultures,” mistress of ceremonies Imelda Treviño added that the sisters especially serve to bridge differences among the marginalized, with the night’s dinner and silent auction raising funds for their projects.
Mark Nerio of Citibank, a corporate sponsor of the event, spoke briefly, noting they have worked closely with Janie Barrera in the ACCION Texas program, their common interest being to improve the economic viability of San Antonio’s West Side.
Sister Carol Coston, OP, of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, cofounder and director of Santuario Sisterfarm, gave the invocation, asking God’s blessing on the MCDPs, who follow in the footsteps of women of the early church. She noted honoree Barrera brought to mind Lydia in the Acts of the Apostles, who was also an entrepreneur who worked with women, and she recalled Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a brilliant Mexican nun of the 17th century, who spoke out strongly for women’s rights and respect for the earth.
A video followed on the life and history of the MCDPs, a national congregation of Mexican American nuns “with deep San Antonio roots.” Their foundress, Sister Benitia, immigrated to Texas from Belgium with her parents. Orphaned as a child, she was placed at what is now known as St. PJs (St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home), under the care of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, later accompanying the sisters on missionary trips to Mexico and eventually entered the Congregation of Divine Providence.
Known for saying she had “a Mexican heart,” Sister Benitia was concerned with the plight of refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution in the 1930s and her work in trying to meet their material and spiritual needs led to the founding of the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.
Today, the congregation responds to meeting the needs of those they serve through a variety of ministries, including Hispanic ministry, catechesis, youth ministry, schools, seminaries, hospital chaplaincy and social services. They strive to bridge the cultural and language differences that can create obstacles to spiritual growth, education and economic advancement.
Introducing the honoree was a previous Benitia Award honoree, Maria Antonietta Berriozábal, human rights activist and the first Latina elected to the San Antonio City Council.
A brief video on Barrera followed, with Berriozábal noting its brevity was at Barrera’s request, as she preferred more time be devoted to the video on the MCDPs. Barrera’s video told of her growing up in Corpus Christi, where she learned early to serve others, give back to her community and entrepreneurship.