We are a small Roman Catholic monastic community formed in the Archdiocese of San Antonio in 2001. Being a young and still very small community, our official canonical status is that of a ‘private association of the faithful with juridic personality’. Our community is made up of priests, men and women religious, consecrated laymen and laywomen, and a lay branch known as Amici Christi.
The Community
“Our primary purpose is to be faithful servants to God’s Will and to bring His message of mercy to our suffering world.”
As a monastic community, our first apostolate is that of prayer. We invite the public to share in our public prayer times, community Masses and Holy Hours of Eucharistic Adoration. Our apostolate also includes various retreats, in particular, two silent retreats known as Encounter With Jesus (EWJ) and Cor Jesu. Several members of our community are bi-lingual, and we make an effort to offer our activities in English and Spanish.
Community Members
FATHER JOHN MARY
Founder and Guardian of MDM. Born in Morgantown, WV in 1960. Entered the Congregation of St. John (CSJ) in France in 1981. Studied at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Ordained a priest in 1987 in Corpus Christi, TX. Founded the Mission of Divine Mercy in 2001 in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
MOTHER MAGDALENE
Born in Morgantown, WV in 1950. She is Father John Mary’s older sister. Entered religious life in 1973. Received her MA in Church History at Catholic University of America. In 2001 she was among the founding members of MDM. She holds the position of Mother Superior of the women’s community.
SISTER AMAPOLA DE JESUS
Born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1977. Attended the University of Monterrey where she studied architecture for five semesters. Moved to Catholic Solitudes in Hebbronville, TX in 1997 to join a small group living there. This group would become the nucleus of the new religious community. Sister Amapola is a founding member of MDM.
BROTHER MIKAEL
Born in Wheeling, WV in 1988. Entered the community in 2007, made his First Profession in 2010 and currently serves the community in the role of Vicar.
PETER OF THE HEART OF JESUS AND MARY
Born in Willingboro, NJ in 1960. After graduation from high school, enlisted in the Navy and served as a nuclear engineer aboard a nuclear submarine. Graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Computer Science. Worked in the corporate world for 30 years. In 2016 he entered a period of discernment with MDM, and in 2019 made his First Profession as MDM’s first consecrated layman. Peter is President of MDM, Inc.
Members in Discernment
RAYMUNDO GÜEMES
Born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1960. Held a career as a civil engineer and university professor. The loud demolition work associated with his profession caused significant hearing loss. In 2000 Raymundo went to Catholic Solitudes to join the group of religious who had gathered there. In 2001, he left with the group that would found MDM. He returned to Mexico at the end of 2002, largely due to his difficulty learning English as a result of his significant hearing loss. He resumed his university career. In 2018, he rejoined MDM where he is currently a postulant.
JOAN-MARIE SUSANNAH OF JESUS
Born in Baytown, Texas in 1963. Worked in the corporate business world, was married and has three adult sons. Susannah was drawn to the Mission of Divine Mercy after a conversion experience in 2013 where she sensed that God was calling her to serve Him completely. She became a postulant as a consecrated laywoman in 2019 with MDM and entered the Novitiate in 2020.
In Memoriam
MARIA FELICITAS
Maria Felicitas was a founding member of MDM, and our first consecrated laywoman. She was largely responsible for hospitality at the Mission and conveyed this same warmth to those whom she met outside our gates. She passed into eternal life on February 12, 2019.
Determining a Vocation to MDM
Determining whether one has a vocation with the Mission of Divine Mercy involves a careful process of vocational discernment, guidance, education, formation, and training in the religious life over a number of years.
If you feel that God is calling you to discern a vocation with the MDM Community, you can get in touch with us by sending an email to vocations@missionofdivinemercy.org.
Please note that a first step for any vocational discernment with MDM is to make an Encounter With Jesus (EWJ) retreat. You can click here to learn more about the EWJ and to register for a retreat.