Incarnate Word Missionaries

By Blanca Morales

LOGOS STAFF WRITER

  The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who founded the university, wrapped up orientation for four new missionaries who have set their sights on promoting social justice and service abroad.

The four — Kirsten Kyle of Detroit; Katie Langley of Houston; Kyle Seymour of Harlingen, Texas; and Angelique “Jelly” Snyder of Laredo, Texas — arrived in San Antonio in mid-July.

After a three-week orientation prepping them for two years of subsequent mission work, Langley and Seymour will head to Chimbote, Peru; Kyle to Santa Fe, Mexico City, Mexico; and Snyder will stay in San Antonio to work with Visitation House.

Kyle, 34, a recent graduate of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, received her graduate degree in sacred theology and music therapy from Michigan State University in East Lansing. Spending nine years as an activity director at a nursing home afforded her a lot of experience with youth, music and prayer ministry. Kyle said she looks forward to improving her Spanish skills and living in solidarity with the community in and around Santa Fe.

Langely, 24, graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing this past May at St. Louis University. After studying liberation theology and practicing social justice advocacy at SLU, her interest in the history and culture of Latin America grew significantly. She looks forward to fulfilling her vocation of nursing, specifically in the Spanish-speaking country of Peru.

“Since I was young I always knew that I wanted to serve abroad, but I never knew how that was going to manifest itself,” Langely said. “Then I found nursing. And I thought, ‘What a perfect way to mix something tangible with this call I have to serve.’ ”

Seymour, 22, moved to San Antonio from the Rio Grande Valley four years ago, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in literature and international relations at St. Mary’s University.

After witnessing the detrimental effects of socioeconomic inequality in his hometown of Harlingen, Seymour worked with various organizations in promotion of social justice. He applied to become an Incarnate Word Missionary in order to promote justice and equality through “the Catholic perspective.” He said he hopes to positively impact the community of Chimbote and to spread the miracle of Jesus Christ.

Snyder, 23, received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She said her passion for serving the poor and marginalized only grew after completing a year of service through FrancisCorps in a Costa Rican daycare, and she looks forward to working with San Antonio children and women at Visitation House.

According to Visitation House’s website, “each woman (at the House) participates in a comprehensive, individualized program, pursuing her education and work-training goals full time while her children attend day school or care. (The house) truly offers a solution to the cycle of poverty and homelessness by focusing on the long-term development of job skills and education.”

Kirsten Kyle             Katie Langley             Kyle Seymour     Angelique ‘Jelly’ Snyder

MISSIONARY PLEDGE

   “We, the missionaries, inspired by the charism and mission of the Incarnate Word, choose to live in community and walk in solidarity with the economically poor and marginalized, in order to be transformed by them and to transform unjust social structures that keep people economically poor and marginalized.”