Sister Yelitza Ayala Gilot, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, is now the director of a center that is transforming the lives of families in Guánica, Puerto Rico. This community has seen its fair share of tragedies, including a devastating earthquake in 2020, Hurricane Maria in 2017, and an unrelenting economic recession.
She participated in our U.S.-Latin American Sisters Exchange Program. The program invites Catholic sisters from religious congregations founded and based in Latin America to pursue a university degree as they create new ministries in Extension dioceses among the poor. She graduated with a master’s degree in applied leadership studies from Boston College.
After completing the program in 2019, she returned to Puerto Rico to lead the center, called the Institute for Integral Development of the Individual, Family and Community. It seeks to give the resilient people of this small town the opportunity to improve their lives through a long list of resources and endless encouragement from the sisters. The center is supported by Catholic Extension Society and offers physical and mental health services, educational workshops, vocational courses, and other initiatives to help people start businesses.
Recently, Sister Yelitza and her team celebrated the graduation of participants in their women’s economic empowerment program.
An enriching experience
Sister Yelitza took her final vows while she was in the U.S.-Latin American Sisters Exchange Program.
She developed rapidly as a leader through her ministry in Texas. She helped create a religious education course to help children and parents grow in faith side by side, while also earning a master’s degree.
She said this education “helped me greatly to be able to acquire the necessary resources and how to carry out a healthy administration of them.”
I think the biggest transformation I’ve had from participating in this program is meeting so many people with the intention of helping individuals, the Church and families.”
She continued, “These years of study, service and sharing were a great blessing in my religious life, as I had the opportunity to meet sisters from different countries of Latin America and establish bonds of friendship and sisterhood that still continue today.”
“I also had the opportunity to work with the Hispanic and English-speaking communities of East Texas parishes and share their joys and sorrows, and build bridges between both communities to foster parish community and unity.”
She continued, “I am left with a grateful heart to God, Catholic Extension, Hilton Foundation, and Boston College for this program that has been enriching for me.“
This story appears in the Summer 2024 edition of Extension magazine. The U.S.-Latin American Sisters Exchange Program is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. Please consider supporting our mission!
