Sr. Luz Romay's Story

Throughout her life of service, Sister Luz Romay served God’s people in both traditional and very innovative ways. At first, she followed the path hewed by her fellow Incarnate Word Sisters in Mexico teaching in grade, middle, and high schools and then went on to teach in Catholic and public universities and government education agencies in Mexico. Her experience as leader of the Congregation’s Ministry Council in Mexico merited the recognition and gratitude of her fellow Sisters in 2018.

This wider experience attracted the attention of Dr. Louis Agnese, President of the University of the Incarnate Word, and of Sisters’ International Leadership Team, at a time when both UIW and Congregation adopted a global perspective.

Sr. Luz’s incredible journey had begun simply: “I learned very early in my life the Christian values (of service)” from her mother and grandmother, both of whom were very devout and translated their holiness into helping others, particularly the poor in their need for food and clothing – and education – in Mexico City, where Sr. Luz was born.

This was reinforced in her schooling at the Incarnate Word Sisters’ Instituto Miguel Ángel. “Some sisters invited me to work with them [as] a catechist for poor kids,” Sr. Luz recalled. “So, we used to go to different areas and work in poor areas with kids. And I made First Communion dresses for girls, and I taught kids very, very early [as a teenager].”

Interestingly, it was during her own First Communion that she heard the call “to be close to God in some special way, and one way could be as a Religious Woman.” The call came back over and over again while seeing the dedication of the Incarnate Word Sisters at the school and working with them in those poor neighborhoods. Upon finishing high school, she joined the Incarnate Word Sisters.

After college, she taught for several years, then moved to administration, and after that earned post-graduate degrees and taught Education in several colleges. Her research work led her to government programs that examined how best to serve the educational needs of the poor in Mexico and, eventually across the Americas, in Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru, and across the globe, in China.

Her interest in the role of educational administrators brought her into contact with a variety of leaders, many of them Incarnate Word Sisters who shared with her their experiences directing a variety of institutions. The exchange of ideas and spiritual motivation, Sr. Luz claims, was very inspiring.

With this extensive experience, Sister Luz has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of the Incarnate Word and the Congregational Leadership Council. Those positions presented her with the challenges facing the Sisters’ basic Mission as the University grew in number and geographically in San Antonio and in Mexico while the number of Sisters shrank.

However, the Mission can thrive and grow if community bonds remain strong and the focus remains on core values, Sister Romay asserts: