Obituary: Guadalupe ‘Lupe’ Arciniega SL, 87, Nerinx
Sister Guadalupe “Lupe” (formerly Sr. Mary Aloysius) Arciniega SL, 87, of Nerinx, died Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, at Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown. She had been a Sister of Loretto for 69 years.
She was born Maria Guadalupe Arciniega on May 2, 1936, in El Paso, Texas. She was the daughter of Mexican-born parents Paz Vela and Rufino Arciniega. She was received into the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross on May 24, 1955. She earned a B.A. in elementary education in 1959 from Webster University in St. Louis, and an M.A. in counseling in 1978 from the University of Northern Colorado.
She had a lifetime commitment to the Hispanic culture. She was an ardent advocate and teacher for the Hispanic peoples of the American Southwest, South America, and Latino migrant workers and their families in California, Alabama and Kentucky. In 2022, she and others celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of Colegio Loreto in La Paz, Bolivia, where she was one of the founding members of the mission and taught from 1961 to 1964. She remained in touch with women whom she taught as children 50 years ago. Graduates have credited the Sisters of Loretto with teaching them to give selflessly to others and to stand up for justice.
From La Paz, she went on to teach children at Colegio Cristo Rey, Tacna, Peru, for eight years. While there, she developed and directed a television and radio educational program to improve literacy and teach life skills to impoverished Indigenous women. In 1972, she returned to the United States. She worked with Mexican farm workers in Wyoming and with Cesar Chavez and farm workers in Los Angeles during the nationwide lettuce boycott. From 1973 to 1977, she was director of activities for elderly sisters at Nazareth Hall, El Paso. From 1978-1985, she was a Catholic Social Services caseworker in Baldwin County, Ala., where she worked as a community organizer and provided outreach in ecumenical ministries for migrants and other disadvantaged populations.
In Kentucky, she pioneered work with migrant populations. For some 15 years beginning in the late-1980s, she was coordinator of migrant ministry for Catholic Charities of Louisville. In this role, she was instrumental in starting the “Centro Latino” in Shelbyville and “Casa Guadalupana” in Springfield to provide help to Spanish-speaking populations. She initiated outreach centers and Spanish-speaking Masses at several additional locations. In 1994, she was appointed to head Catholic Charities’ first ministry to Hispanics. From 2004 until her death, she served as a consultant and volunteer for Hispanic services throughout the state. In 2005, she became the first Hispanic inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Among other roles in her later years, she served as a Spanish interpreter for the Lincoln Trail District Health Department in Elizabethtown and continued to develop networking capabilities necessary to support the constant growth of the migrant community in Kentucky, partnering with local Hispanic communities to assist them in adjusting to the state.
Preceding her in death were her parents and four siblings, Jo Velez, Rufus Arciniega, Maria Hernandez and Armando Arciniega.
She is survived by one sister, Yolanda Talamantes of El Paso, Texas; one brother, Rudy Arciniega of Dallas; numerous nieces and nephews, extended family and friends.
The funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, with a wake at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx. Burial is Monday, May 20, 2023, at Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery at the Loretto Motherhouse.
Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Loretto for our mission in care of the Loretto Motherhouse, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, KY 40049.
Mattingly Funeral Home in Loretto is in charge of arrangements.
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