Sister Esperanza brings hope to Hispanics

By Christina Capecchi

At age 15, when most girls are thinking about celebrating their quinceañera, Esperanza Razura a strong-willed girl from a small town in Nayarit, Mexico, told a priest she wanted to become a nun. Although Esperanza’s parents were devout Catholics, it still took some time for them to accept the idea.

When each of their nine children turned 12, the Razura family explained to them the vocations to married, single and religious life, and prayed he or she would discover the right vocation. Esperanza didn’t grasp the concept at the time but a seed had been planted and surfaced three years later on a church retreat.

“I started praying, asking God, ‘What do you want from me? Because I know there is something you want for my life,’” Sister Esperanza recalls. “All of a sudden I thought: ‘I want to become a sister.’” But Esperanza’s parents were reluctant telling her she was too young.

Yet her calling persisted, so the priest from that momentous retreat spoke to her parents. “He told them that it was God’s will and we must never say no to God’s will. That helped them,” says Esperanza, who joined the Augustinian Order once her parents gave their blessing. “It was not easy to leave my family, but God was calling me and I said yes. Now I think about the joy it has brought me.”

Early on, as a young religious, Esperanza discovered her passion: a yearning to serve her people, the Hispanic community. She took a leave from her order to study at the Mexican American Culture Center in San Antonio, where she met Sister Josie, a joyful member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Sister Esperanza decided to leave the Augustinian Order to join the Adorers and is currently working with the community in Wichita, Kansas. The Adorers’ charism touched her profoundly and the community supported her desire to work with Hispanics.  

Sister Esperanza has lived up to her name, bringing hope and serving in parishes with large Hispanic populations; working in missions that are truly meaningful and spiritually enriching. She enjoys directing religious education, helping with sacramental preparation and assisting RCIA candidates. “Whomever I am working with, I think, ‘This person was redeemed by Jesus. God redeems us all.’”

Your turn
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