The Catholic Extension has reported that upon her graduation from its program, Sr. Maria Isabel Doñate Valdez has been named Mother Superior and will be the new Superior General at the Missionary Social Workers of the Church congregation, which was founded in Mexico. 

Valdez’s rise to the position comes less than 12 months after she graduated from the U.S.-Latin American Sisters Exchange Program by Catholic Extension, which allows religious sisters from Latin American churches to work with Latino immigrants in the U.S. While in the program, Valdez served in the Diocese of Yakima, serving migrant farm workers. 

Catholic Extension’s program is designed to help bring the Church to individuals who are being marginalized in the U.S., in addition to serving religious congregations in Latin American countries. Seventy-five sisters have taken part in the program to this day.

Sr. Valdez | https://www.catholicextension.org/

“Thanks to this experience, I was able to work with our migrant brothers and sisters in the fields,” Valdez told Catholic Extension. “I was able to see that even in a developed country like the U.S. there is still so much need — spiritually, humanly and socially — among those that pick our crops in the summertime. It was so fulfilling to be able to listen to them and celebrate the Eucharist with them.”

Valdez said that the language classes were very helpful and that she was able to apply her philosophy about citizenship and the nature of being an immigrant as she served the impoverished looking for new opportunities. In 2018, Valdez said that she will always be an immigrant, no matter where she goes. 

“Our only land and our only place are where there are people in need,” she told Catholic Extension at the time. “They open a place for us to come to offer words of hope.”