July 10, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
News
Sister Mary Marius inspires, teaches and helps WG residents, among others By I-chun Che To many people, Sister Mary Marius Mei has been a dedicated nun, an accomplished teacher and an effective administrator. Always smart, shrewd and sometimes even a little bit stubborn, the 91-year-old nun, who belongs to the Roman Catholic Church's religious order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, often reminds people of the character of Sophia in the television series Golden Girls. The short, fragile figure beneath her blue blouse seems full of unlimited energy and strength. "I don't want to sit at home and knit," said Sister Marius, whose driver's license was just renewed for another five years. "I'd rather be up and doing things." Sister Marius' passion to serve the poor and the sick has taken her to do missionary work all over the world. The various exotic souvenirs in the small house she shares with two other nuns near the Sacred Heart Church, at the corner of Palm and Willow streets, are the best testimonies of her efforts to help people in different continents. In the middle of her room hangs a colorful pottery bell from Guayaquil, Ecuador. The nuns she used to work with in the South American city gave it to her to thank her for helping them take care of lepers during her stay in the summer of 1985. A wood handcraft pinned on her closet door is from Kingston, Jamaica, where she looked after unwed mothers and their children. A straw fan on the wall is from Dominica, the first island discovered by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1493, where she taught poor and neglected children. "I enjoy missionary works," said Sister Marius, who is planning to make more missionary trips to South America. From 1983 to 1997, Sister Marius worked as a mission coordinator for the diocese of San Jose. Although retired from the position, she keeps raising money to build schools and hospitals in Ecuador. Through her efforts, two youth career centers have been built in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Many students, who used to be shoeshine boys running after tourists, have found decent jobs because of the center's language and computer training programs. "After the gift of faith, education is the greatest gift we can bring to the poor because it enables them to be self-sufficient," Sister Marius said. Her belief in the power of education prompted her to work as a teacher before devoting herself to missionary work. For 50 years, she taught at many Bay Area Catholic schools. One of her students still vividly remembers the caring and outgoing teacher. "Some of the nuns were very strict, but Sister Marius was different," said Willow Glen resident Carol W. Meyers, a member of the San Jose Unified School District Board of Education, who was taught by Sister Marius when she was a first-grader of St. Leo Elementary School on Race Street. "She would jump to the desk to attract the students' attention and entertain the students." During her 50-year teaching career, Sister Marius taught thousands of students to respect the truth, learn discipline and overcome obstacles. For her contributions to the community and advancement of the Catholic Church in Santa Clara County, Pope John Paul II gave Sister Marius the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For the Church and the Pontiff) Award in 2001. In the eyes of her students and congregations, Sister Marius is an angel from heaven. She seems to have been in her habit and known to do the right thing since she was born. But according to her late brother, Mario Mei, Sister Marius was not always the paragon of goodness people see today. "During my growing years, before this miracle occurred, she was a sharp thorn in my side," said Mei in 1980 at a party celebrating Sister Marius' 50th anniversary of taking her religious vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy. Mei said that their parents were convinced that Sister Marius could not and would not do any wrong because she looked so innocent with "her big, laughing eyes, her long, luxurious curls, her flashing smile and the translucent complexion of a Boticelli cherub." "Little did they know," Mei said. Mei told stories about his younger sister stealing candies from the kitchen cabinet without being caught, scaring her brother with a snake by wrapping the wriggling creature around his neck, and always conjuring up the urgent need to study for an exam when the dishes had to be done. "Her transformation must be considered the logical result of celestial inspiration," Mei joked. The stories Mei told about Sister Marius' earlier years might explain why she is so good at dealing with mischievous children. Although she dismissed the speech as silly, Sister Marius kept a copy of it in her photo album, and it has since yellowed with age. Now she recalls her childhood memories alone, since all her siblings - three brothers and one sister - have died. "I am the only one in the family that God refuses to take," Sister Marius said. "But I have a happy and joyful life." |
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