Our Lady of Guadalupe in Iowa

Sisters in Des Moines are celebrating the best of Latino culture and faith and reaching thousands

Before coming to Iowa from Mexico to minister to Hispanic Catholics, Sister María del Rosario Amezcua Huerta, had told her spiritual director that she was nervous for the five-year commitment to a place so foreign to her. The director replied, “Don’t worry. Wherever you go, Our Lady of Guadalupe will be with you.”

A few weeks later, when Sister Maria del Rosario and her companions, Sisters Blanca Contreras Cruz and Claudia Alvarez Luna, arrived at the airport in Des Moines, many parishioners came out to greet them. There were balloons, flowers and lots of cameras.

One little girl, who could not operate a camera, kept snapping shots. When her father was later paging through her out-of-focus shots, he came upon one that had a blurred image standing amidst the sisters — the image looked like Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The man printed a copy of the photo, which looks like an abstract watercolor, and brought it to the sisters. Sister María del Rosario gasped. Yes, Our Lady of Guadalupe was with them.

The sisters share the photo with everyone who visits them. They often bring it to events. The photographic image is revered, as is Our Lady of Guadalupe herself, among Hispanics. She is a reminder of their Latino culture and faith.

The three sisters from the Mexican congregation Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary have two big goals for their stay in Des Moines: Bring a touch of home to the city’s Hispanic Catholics and get the word out about their mission as widely as possible.

They have made big strides in both goals.

The first goal of fostering the existent, deep faith of Hispanics as they assimilate into American society and confront Catholic practices that are slightly different from their own, got a big boost on the day the sisters arrived in 2015.

The sisters are finding other ways to bring a sliver of Latin America to Des Moines. They hold a weekly faith formation group for girls called Rosas de María (Roses of Mary). They celebrate all the Hispanic feast dates in the two parishes they serve, Christ the King and Our Lady of the Americas. They teach religious songs in Spanish and dances with traditional, colorful Hispanic costumes.

On their second goal — to tell the good news extensively — the sisters have taken to the airwaves and speak weekly on two radio shows. One station is owned by a parishioner at Christ the King and the second station has nearly 13,000 listeners. The sisters are local celebrities.

“We see Jesus as a great missionary catechist who said, ‘Go out and teach,’” said Sister Blanca. “We are following His directions.”

Jason Kurth, chancellor of the Diocese of Des Moines, which covers the southwestern quarter of Iowa, said that he receives requests from many other parishes who also want sisters to minister to their own Hispanics communities. The sisters are a big hit in Des Moines.