Madrid, Spain, Jun 20, 2025 /
10:29 am
Sister Maria Zhang Yue Chun made her perpetual vows on May 13 at the convent of the Augustinian Recollects in Vitigudino, Salamanca province, Spain. Her prioress, Sister Berta, said she is “an example” for her community.
Born in Shangqiu, Henan province, China, Maria lived without any connection to Catholicism. She was married and took care of her five children. During a serious illness, however, the support provided to her by a community of active Augustinian Recollects opened her eyes to the faith.
On July 1, 2007, she was baptized along with her four daughters. Her husband and son followed in her footsteps at Christmas that year. The following year, Maria was widowed. One by one, her daughters joined a community of Augustinian nuns who have had a presence in the Asian country since 1931. This past April 25, her only son was ordained an Augustinian priest.
Ever since her husband’s death, Maria felt a strong calling to live her faith more radically as a contemplative nun. However, in China, the Augustinian nuns do not have a community of this nature.
Thus, in 2015, Maria left her native country ready to fulfill the vocation to which she was being called. She was especially helped in this endeavor by one of her daughters, who is also part of an Augustinian community in Spain.
But it wasn’t easy. Despite her family background full of considerable and evident spiritual merits, various communities turned her down, primarily due to her age (56 at the time) and because she didn’t know Spanish.
However, with the support of a Chinese priest and making use of an electronic translator, she arrived at the Vitigudino convent. The prioress, Sister Berta Feijó, recounted to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, what that first contact was like when she was allowed to experience religious life within the convent.
“Little by little, she learned the essentials for our contemplative life and adapted,” Sister Berta said. “What we observed in her is that she was always smiling and happy.”
The prioress, originally from Peru, said Sister Maria “is an example for the community of a dedicated life, of recollection, of a sisterhood also because she is eager to serve,” especially the older sisters of the convent, all of whom are in their 90s.
The community currently consists of 16 sisters from four different continents: Five are Spanish, seven are from Tanzania, and the rest are from Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela, and China.
Despite the obvious language difficulties, Sister Berta recalled that Sister Maria was determined: “She never flinched, she never seemed sad, nor did she ever complain about anything, always happy to this day.” So much so that the first thing she learned to say in Spanish was that “she’s happy.”
Maria took the white veil for novices in 2017 and three years later made her temporary vows in a ceremony accompanied by one of her daughters, Sister Maria Sun Shen, who sang to the Virgin in her native language at the end of the Mass.
This past May 13, after publicly expressing her total devotion and invoking the saints with the litany, Sister Maria prostrated herself on the floor as a sign of humility while two sisters covered her with rose petals.
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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Nicolás de Cárdenas has been the correspondent for ACI Prensa in Spain since July 2022. In his journalism career he has specialized in socio-religious topics, and he has also worked for local and international civil associations.
