University of San Diego Magazine: Those at Our Core - Catholic Identity

Sister Maria Dela Paz, OSF, embraces her Catholic Identity

In Spring 2023, the USD Board of Trustees adopted updated vision and mission statements for the university. This year, USD celebrates 75 years as an anchor institution — 75 years being a part of the community and 75 years working alongside its neighbors near and far to make the world a better place.

The updated vision and mission speak to the community’s deep commitment to service and compassion. USD’s mission states that “we are advancing academic excellence to create a more inclusive, sustainable … and hopeful world.” The vision states that “strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love.” 

Those aren’t just catchy taglines or lofty goals. 

Those words, chosen with the utmost care, are the university’s true north. They inform decisions, directions and strategy. The vision and mission are embodied through six core values — academic excellence, Catholic identity, human dignity, care for our common home, ethical conduct and compassionate service, and inspired and meaningful lives. 

In the story that follows, you’ll learn more about the meaningful and inspiring ways through which one Torero lives out USD’s mission, vision and values.

Sister Maria Dela Paz’s relationship with God took on a new complexion as an undergraduate at Saint Peter’s University in New Jersey. 

“It was the first time that I was really introduced to Ignatian spirituality, which opened my eyes to a deeper prayer life and an examination of where I saw God in my life,” she recalled. 

Sister Maria grew up in a household that valued the Catholic faith, which included going to Mass, participating in pilgrimages with her family and praying the rosary every day. Faith, she realized, isn’t just about prayer. “It’s about action, too,” she said. 

Sister Maria took her own words to heart, joining the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and teaching at a boarding school on a tiny island in the Federated State of Micronesia called Chuuk. 

It was the same faith-in-action credo that brought Sister Maria to USD in 2019, when she took on the role of program coordinator for student success where, for two years, she collaborated with mentor programs across campus that support students transitioning to college. She then switched roles to become a resident minister, living in a second-year residence hall and talking with students about faith and life. 

USD, Sister Maria said, asks an important question: What does it mean to live the Gospel in 2024? Having been hired as associate university minister in 2021, Sister Maria plays no small role in the conversation. 

“As President Harris will say, ‘we’re a contemporary Catholic institution,’ and that’s really true,” she said. “One call of Vatican II [in the Catholic church] was, how can we be more collaborative with lay people? We’re all called to be involved.” 

“Asking what it means to be a contemporary Catholic institution empowers our students to ask critical questions about life, about what social justice issues are relevant today,” she added, “but also, when it comes to majors, and the organizations and clubs they’re interested in. They get to define what it means to be a Catholic school today, and there’s a kind of freedom behind it.” 

Sister Maria took her vows with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Prior to joining USD, she was campus minister at Neumann University in Pennsylvania and Alfred University in New York. 

Because campus ministry was such an important part of her own days as a college student, she relished the opportunity to work with USD students. The experience, she noted, is “like coming full circle.” 

“I love my job and I love the work that I do here in University Ministry,” she added. “It’s a great opportunity to support students.” 

During new student orientation last fall, Sister Maria gave a talk to get incoming students thinking: “How can I find meaning at a Catholic university?” 

“What’s so special about USD is, it’s not just a place of learning, but it’s also a community,” she said. “In Ignatian spirituality, there’s an idea called cura personalis, in which we care for the whole person. We live that at USD. We’re mission-driven in terms of supporting students. The university is not only my place of work. It’s also my spiritual home.”

— Story by Andrew Faught

*Editor’s Note: In June, Sister Maria Dela Paz, OSF, departed USD to pursue full-time graduate studies. The USD community wishes her well on this exciting new chapter.