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A religious sister who has served and been educated in the realms of faith and action has sage advice to those eager to learn about Catholics from diverse backgrounds.
“We must embrace everyone. See the richness of their cultures and family values. When you open your hearts to them, you see they are a lot more similar than different,” said Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Sister Miriam Perez, the new coordinator, diocesan Multicultural Ministries.
Sister Miriam will immerse herself in ministry to the diocese’s different ethnic groups and cultures, including apostolates for the African American, African and Caribbean; Brazilian and Portuguese; Chinese; Filipino; Hungarian; Indian and Sri Lankan; Indonesian; Korean; Polish, and Vietnamese populations.
Her preliminary meetings with ethnic groups in the diocese have proven to be “a beautiful experience to be part of and feel welcome,” she noted.
Sister Miriam was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to parents who had relocated from Puerto Rico. The seventh of 11 children, she was raised in Perth Amboy. She earned a bachelor of arts degree at Georgian Court College, Lakewood, where she majored in psychology and religious studies. Later, she earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas.
Deciding to dedicate herself to service in religious life, Sister Miriam began her initial formation in Mexico City with the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and recently marked 41 years since her profession of vows. She is in the process of transferring to another religious community, the Society of Sisters for the Church, whose motherhouse is in the Diocese of Paterson.
After her religious formation was complete, Sister Miriam ministered in her Perth Amboy hometown parish, Our Lady of Fatima, then in Lakewood and Trenton before being reassigned to Lubbock, Texas. In 1992, she began ministry in the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, where she worked in her order’s internal leadership as provincial superior or council member. From 2019 to earlier this year, Sister Miriam provided hospice care for her elderly mother, who died in April.
Over the course of her vocation, Sister Miriam has served as a director of religious education, spiritual director for English and Spanish retreats for women and couples, and coordinator of family catechesis. She also volunteered in Texas’ Diocese of Victoria as director for the Encuentro Process, which evolved into that diocese’s first Hispanic Office.
In addition to serving part-time in the diocesan multicultural office, Sister Miriam is a counselor for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, working in the skills program for anger management and training for effective parenting at their Perth Amboy facilities.
Sister Miriam shared her plans for the department of multicultural ministries as it is regenerating after the COVID-19 shutdown.
“I will attend the Eucharistic celebrations of the different ethnic groups, celebrating their faith traditions, music and community,” she said, noting the beauty of the recent diocesan pilgrimage Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., where the liturgy celebrated by Bishop James F. Checchio included diverse cultural features.
She added, “We will work towards addressing the needs expressed by the groups [by] planning and celebrating a Multicultural Day where each ethnic group can promote their dance, food and history in a festive atmosphere… I also plan to hold a diocesan Reflection Day for the African American community in preparation for The National Black Catholic Congress in July 2023.”
For her motivation towards cultural inclusiveness and celebration of differences, Sister Miriam needs to look no further than her own large group of siblings.
“My family married into different races and ethnic groups,” she revealed. “I feel at home wherever I go. We are all children of God.”
