Maria Corazón Angeles

Mission Country: U.S.-Mexico Border

hometown: Quezon City, Philippines

home parish: St. Robert Bellarmine, Burbank, CA 

faith community: For the last 20 years, I have been active in a charismatic prayer community called Handmaids of the Lord, which is a women’s ministry under Couples for Christ. 

languages: Tagalog (Philippine language), and beginner Spanish.

travel: I lived in the Philippines for 33 years, in the United States for the last 43 years. I have traveled around Europe, Mexico, Kenya, and some other Asian countries as a tourist.

Maria Corazon “Cora” Angeles, originally from Quezon City in the Philippines and now rooted in Burbank, California, brings to mission a lifetime of compassion, legal advocacy, and a heart shaped by her own migrant journey. A graduate of Maryknoll College in Manila and the University of the Philippines College of Law, Cora has spent four decades in solo legal practice, specializing in immigration law. In those years she has walked closely with families facing uncertainty, fear, and hardship—experiences that have deepened her commitment to justice, mercy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Her long involvement with Handmaids of the Lord, a women’s ministry within Couples for Christ, has nurtured her faith for more than 20 years, offering a community where prayer, service, and mutual support flourish. Participation in Maryknoll immersion trips to the Yucatán and Kenya further awakened her desire to “witness” Christ’s presence across cultures and borders. She felt especially moved by Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ commitment to migrants and marginalized communities—issues that have been at the heart of her professional life.

Cora describes herself as entering mission with an open and humble heart, ready to offer her gifts—and ready to learn. A motherly presence with a deep sense of joy, she believes her own experience as a migrant gives her a unique perspective of empathy and understanding. Her spirituality is grounded in the Mass, the Rosary, Divine Mercy prayers, and a daily desire to do God’s will.

Friends know her as kind, patient, and true. Though she will miss her young grandnieces and grandnephews, Cora embraces this new chapter with the same hope-filled spirit that guided her throughout her life: to “do ordinary things with great love.”

education:

Bachelor of Arts, Maryknoll College (Philippines)

Law Degree, University of the Philippines 

work:

Solo practice as Attorney, emphasis on Immigration Law, from 1984 to present.

volunteer:

Handmaids of the Lord (Couples for Christ), ministry for women, from 2002 to present.

hobbies:

Reading, movies, walking/hiking, occasional golf, following baseball and hockey.

What motivated you to become a Maryknoll Lay Missioner?

I have always had a desire to do community service even during my law practice years. After  having joined the Maryknoll immersion trips (Yucatan, Kenya in 2024), I realized the value, importance, and need for mission work. After that, I learned of MKLM and its strong advocacy and ministry with migrants and the marginalized, which are issues close to my heart. It was also very providential that even at my age, MKLM finds that my legal background and experience can be of use in mission work. 

Of MKLM’s 5 Core Values, please choose one and share an example of living it out.

In my work with migrants and families, I have seen much suffering and brokenness that they go through just to reach their goal of living in the United States. However, in spite of or maybe because of these challenges, they stay committed to their goals with incredible JOY and HOPE. Even as I sometimes would have thought that the case is “hopeless,” the client would not give up and would stay on course whatever it took. These were the times that I felt ashamed of myself for being negative, but grateful and humbled for life lessons learned from these clients. 

What personal gifts or strengths do you bring to mission?

I come to mission with an open and humble heart seeking how God’s gifts of my professional training and my passion for service can be used to witness God’s love. I also believe that being a migrant myself, I come to mission with a unique perspective. 

How do you define “mission” in your own words? 

My “elementary” concept of mission, not having really done this officially before, is to “witness,” specifically, as a Christian, to have others encounter Christ through me, and for me to see Christ through the people I serve.

What does community mean to you? 

Community means to me being in a mutually committed, mutually responsible relationship with the group.