GRETCHEN OCAMPO RECTO REMEMBERS

In my 17 years at Assumption San Lorenzo, Herran and Antipolo, I never came across Sr. Regivic. We met late, around the mid-2000s, being part of the Marie Eugenie Institute for a few years. Sr. Regivic somehow reminded me of Mother Rosario De Vera, a beloved English Literature teacher who ignited the love of literature across generations of Assumption students. Both Mother Rosario and Sr Regivic usually wore a stern, bespectacled look. Both were petite, had roundish glasses, pursed lips, and of similar height. Their motherly presence on campus inspired reverence and affection.

 Sr Regivic loved and embraced our Mother Foundress all her life. She devoted many hours studying her teachings, and brilliantly wove together MME’s essence in talks shared at alumnae forums and the like.

Of all places, my last true encounter with Sr. Regivic happened at the Paris Assumption Mother House in April, 2023. A group of us from our 1980 HS batch made it a point to visit the Mother House before embarking on our Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

What a magnificent gift it was to see her! She was not even supposed to be there, but at a seminar. She did not make it as she had a fall the day before and needed to rest. Following the mass, she gave us a little tour and showed us the final resting place of St Marie Eugenie.

Looking back – to have been with Sr. Regivic at the Mother House and by the tomb of St Marie Eugenie – what a magnificent gift it was!

For if there is one R.A. that comes to mind who presented and explained the life of St Marie Eugenie extraordinarily well, it was our beloved Sr. Regivic. May her love, the legacy of her talks and teachings be preserved and documented for future generations.