Incarnate Word Sisters Elect 2012-2016 Leader

The Sisters of Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (IWBS) of Corpus Christi reelected Sister Michelle Marie Kuntscher for a second term as Superior General on Dec. 21, 2011. Her second four-year term of office will begin in June.

The election was held using a process of communal discernment. Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey, Bishop of Corpus Christi, and Msgr. Thomas Feeney, Chaplain of Incarnate Word Convent, celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit with the community. In his homily, Bishop Mulvey spoke of the Holy Spirit’s action in the Incarnation of the Word, in the Eucharist, in the community and in each individual.
After the formal balloting and election, Sister Michelle Marie accepted the call of the community to serve. The community celebrated with a customary ceremony including the blessing of the Superior General and greeting by each of the sisters.

Sister Michelle Marie spoke of the importance of collaboration in leadership. “Collaboration has been a strength of the Incarnate Word Sisters throughout history, since it is so integral to our mission to evangelize by proclaiming the mystery of the Incarnation,” Sister Michelle Marie said. “We participate in the ecclesial mission by our lives as religious in community and by the special purpose of our Institute, which is to adore and proclaim the Incarnate Word. We do this in collaboration with our sisters and brothers in the Church, with other religious institutes, with our various Incarnate Word congregations, our associates and the many groups with whom we interact in the local community.

“I see my role with bishops and clergy, with the congregation as a whole, and in relationship to the sisters and the local community as collaborative and supportive,” she said. “Through prayer for our transformation and spiritual growth, through encouragement in the offering of gifts and talents for the common good with special attention to those in need; through reconciling to bring about right relationships, we work together to allow Jesus to be present among us and to transform us through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

On Thursday, Dec, 22, 2011, the discernment process continued, followed by formal balloting to elect four members to the IWBS General Council. Those elected are Sister Mary Ann Korczynski, who will serve as assistant to the Superior General, Sister Irma Gonzalez, Sister Marilyn Grace Springs and Sister Annette Wagner. Their term of office will also begin in June.

Sister Michelle Marie entered the congregation in 1960. She earned a B.A. in English at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, and an M.A. in English from Texas A&M University in College Station. She taught at Villa Maria High School in Brownsville and Incarnate Word Academy and various parish schools in Corpus Christi. She has served as vocation director, team member in mission work in Oaxaca, Mexico, in migrant ministry in Minnesota and worked in communications in Brownsville and Corpus Christi. From 1992–2000 and again from 2008-2012 she was called by the community to serve as Superior General of the IWBS Congregation.