Mother Maria Victoria

Mother Victoria was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, April 22, 1930. She entered the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Guadalajara, Mexico,  on September 12, 1952 at the age of 22 and came to Anchorage, Alaska on May 15, 1985 at the age of 54.

In Mother Victoria’s family there were five boys and 2 girls, she was the youngest. Her Mother prayed the rosary and went to mass every day. Mother Victoria had a normal family life. After high school, she studied accounting and went to work in the office of her older brother, a civil engineer. She loved her work and her family and was very happy.

Mother Victoria’s conversion to convent life began around the age of 19 or 20, when she heard a priest preaching about God’s love for us. She was so happy to hear those words, they pierced deep into her soul and began working on her heart and mind

Her conversion continued when she went to visit another city with her mother and her older brother, who was renovating some churches. During this time, she was thinking deeply about the Lord and spending a lot of time in nature. She loved to see nature, especially sunrises, because it reminded her of the Lord. She knew that the Lord made all things because He loves us.

Little by little the Lord was calling her to a religious life.

One day, while thinking of the Lord, she saw a pamphlet on her brother’s desk from the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in San Francisco, California. She read it and began to think about entering the Monastery.

From that moment on, a war began on the inside of Mother Victoria. Happy with her current life but deeply feeling the call to convent life, she was torn. She shared her struggles with a Jesuit priest and found him to be helpful and supportive – he sent her to visit the nuns at the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Guadalajara.

The battle raged for two years. Finally, she went for a week-long retreat and made her decision to enter the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament. She was at peace.

She told her mother first; she was happy and said it was God’s will. Then she told the rest of her family and they accepted her decision, although they were not as happy as their mother, especially her older brother.

Mother Victoria was Mother Superior at the Monastery of the Blesses Sacrament in Guadalajara when the call came for nuns to move to Alaska to start a monastery. She was happy and content and never considered moving anywhere, especially Alaska. Her first questions were: “Is it very cold? Is there ice?” The answers were: “No, it’s not very cold. And yes, there is ice.”  Her next statement was: If it’s God’s will, we will go.”

 

It was a call from the Lord, through Bishop Hurley, to set up a monastery in Anchorage. Mother Victoria answered the call and has never once regretted her decision. She loves the people of Anchorage, saying they are very kind. She says the environment is silent compared to Guadalajara and helps you feel closer to the Lord.

Mother Victoria believes very strongly in God’s love and feels lucky to be so close to the Eucharist.