María de Jesús Peña García

BIOGRAPHY

María de Jesús Peña García was born in Pénjamo, Guanajuato, México, on 5 May 1912. She was the eldest daughter of Daniel Peña and Eulalia García. Her father dedicated himself to working on a farm in Pénjamo. She had four brothers and one sister. Her family claimed how she was her father’s favorite child, so she had the opportunity to study. She learned to read, write and do math operations.

Due to the Mexican revolution, her father and the family had to secretly leave the farm one night. They moved to Mexico City. In December 1938, she became a nun in the Congregation of Joséfinas Sisters in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City. She was a teacher of pedagogy, mathematics and dressmaking. She decided to join the convent. Throughout her working life, she was a mathematics teacher at the convent school. She taught all of her siblings to read, write, add, and subtract. In 1967, she moved to Orizaba, Veracruz.

In December 2013, she celebrated 75 years of religious profession. Father Román Elías Oficial Gil recalled how she continued praying to God even after she lost the ability to do some physical activities. In 2015, she suffered a fall where she broke her hip and was unable to walk anymore.

Peña García passed away in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico, on 24 November 2022, at the age of 110 years, 203 days. She passed away a month prior to the 88th anniversary of her religious life.