Sister M. Guadalupe Medina, FMA

A Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco, Sister Medina was born in Mexico City. She professed her first vows as a Salesian sister in 1964. She taught in Laredo and then in Florida before she returned to Laredo as school principal. She next came to Austin to serve as a catechist and worked with teenagers and young adults for 13 years. Sister Medina has also served at the Provincial House in San Antonio, where she helped care for the elderly sisters.

After suffering a brain aneurysm and then a cancer scare, she is back in Austin serving the youth at Cristo Rey Parish in Austin. “I thank the Good Lord for allowing me to serve him, for allowing me to give my life for him and for his children,” she said.

Sister Emma Stefanoni, FMA

Sister Emma Stefanoni is a Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco. She was born in Chipilo, Puebla Mexico and went to primary school in a school run by the Salesian Sisters. She remembers wanting to be a sister in second grade.

After Sister Stefanoni made her first profession in 1968, she taught in primary schools for 32 years in Texas, New Jersey, New York, California and Louisiana. Then the Lord called her to parish ministry. Since 2002, she has served in parishes in San Antonio and Austin as a director of religious education and as a catechist for children and adults. She currently serves at Cristo Rey Parish in Austin. “Through my vocation the Lord has given me the grace to touch so many souls,” she said.

Sister Irene Tapia, FMA

Sister Irene Tapia is a member of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco. Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, she was12 when the Salesian Sisters arrived in San Luis Potosi to open a school near her parents' home.

As a novice, Sister Tapia was sent to the U.S. to learn English, and she made her first vows in 1968. Her first assignment was in San Antonio. She has ministered in schools and taught religious education in different parishes. A religious sister for more than 55 years, she currently serves at Cristo Rey Parish in Austin. She said Our Lady Help of Christians has served as her “mother, teacher, guide and companion … she has helped me all the way and will continue until Jesus calls me to my final home in Heaven.”

Sister Annakutty Pottakkal, CIC

Sister Annakutty Pottakkal is a member of the Society of Apostolic Life, Communion in Christo in Germany. She is originally from Kulapurum, Kerala, India. She made her first profession as a religious in 1974, and came to the U.S. in 1990 to work as a nurse.

Sister Pottakkal has worked in health care ministry in the dioceses of Tyler and Shreveport. She arrived in the Diocese of Austin in 2009 to work in hospice and palliative care at the VA Hospital in Temple. Currently, she lives in Temple and teaches religious education at St. Matthew in Rogers and Christ the King Parish in Belton.