Meet Our Peruvian Sisters: María Choquez and Gloria
Muchaypiña
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Sr. María and Sr. Gloria
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We the Pembroke csj community are proud to profile our two
Peruvian women who today continue to minister to their people
in the name of our Congregation.
Both Sister María Choquez Cespedes and Sister Gloria
Muchaypiña were born into campesino (farm-field worker)
families of the Chincha valley. They know what it means to
struggle for their rights, and they have learned to appreciate
and work with what is available to them.
Sisters María and Gloria grew-up in different generations
but with little difference in the Peruvian reality.
María was born in March of 1947, one of six children.
She attended elementary school at Hoja Redonda while working
in the fields with her father. When she finished elementary
school she came to Chincha Alta to live and work with a family,
caring for their children while at the same time doing commercial
studies at night. She also studied tailoring with the hope
of getting employment in either of these areas.
Gloria was born in November of 1967, some twenty years later
into a family of eight children. Due to the poverty of the
family, at an early age she was sent to live and work for
an aunt and uncle. Although she was treated as a slave in
their home, she was able to complete her elementary schooling.
She later sought employment with another family who took her
in and allowed her to work and live as an equal in their home
and helped her to get her high school studies through night
classes.
Both Gloria and María were active members of Our
Lady of Fatima parish in their youth and through their encounter
with ours Sisters working in this parish, they in turn were
drawn to the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Sister
María was one of four women who entered our first novitiate
program in 1981; she made first vows in 1984 and finals in
1989. Gloria first entered the formation program in 1991,
and made finals in 2000.
Sr. María was hired as a catechists in the parish
before entering Religious Life and has always enjoyed working
with young catechist in the capacity of teacher. She has the
ability to put across her message in a very simple manner
that allows others to capture it. María’s love
for teaching has taken her into the Teachers’ College
where she now occupies a teaching position in the area of
religious sciences. Her pastoral ministry takes her into the
active life of the Basic Christian Communities where she assumes
the ongoing responsibility for the training of the leaders
and coordinators of these Communities.
Sr. Gloria has a great love and appreciation for music and
dance. She is very creative and gets much joy out of preparing
special liturgies where she can allow these talents of hers
to develop freely. Our Lady of Fatima parish in Chincha is
one of the more liberal parishes in the Diocese of Ica and
therefore allows Gloria the freedom she needs to express herself
in a very meaningful way. Gloria, too, has worked herself
into a teaching position. She is responsible for the teaching
of Religion at the high school and elementary levels, and
she uses her contacts with the school to organize youth retreats.
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Sr. María and Sr. Gloria accompanying Sr.
Lucy Germain, Sr. Pauline Coulterman and Canadian associate
Betty Pearson into the high Inca Mountains of Peru.
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María and Gloria are as different as night and day
when it comes to enjoying some relaxation. María enjoys
being alone. When the opportunity allows her some outdoor
time, she could spend hours on the ocean shore with her fishing
line, just waiting quietly, patiently, for the fish to come
her way. She gets so wrapped up in the tranquility of the
moment that time means nothing. María’s enjoyment
of the great outdoors spreads to her love for plants and animals.
She was quite involved in a program that helped families get
started with the raising of guinea pigs and rabbits. The purpose
of the project was to teach families how to get more protein
into their diet.
Gloria on the other hand does not like to be alone. She enjoys
a good party, where an evening of song and dance would be
much more inviting than a quiet time at home. For relaxation
Gloria loves to do arts and crafts and is very creative when
it comes to putting her hands to any piece of artwork.
Sisters Gloria and María find great satisfaction
and truly appreciate the opportunity to continue to work with
their own people in Peru. They in conjunction with our fourteen
committed associates continue to bring our Spirit and charism
to the many areas of ministry in which they are involved in
the Chincha Valley and to the Peruvian church in general.
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