Rev. Regina Maria Bernadette Cross, MS​
Regina Maria Bernadette Suraci was born and raised in Washington, D.C. during the evolutionary era of the 1950’s and 60’s. During the 1950’s D.C. seemed like a small town filled with wonder and the beauty of Rock Creek Park. The 1960’s presented itself with the growing up of race relations and unrest as she grew into her own years of awakening. Her Dad, Dr. Alfred John Suraci, was a Reconstructive Surgeon, and her Mother, Pauline Virginia, was a Nurse in her early career before becoming Mom-Mom-Mom par excellence of seven hatchlings with a fourteen-year age range.
From the mid-60s through the mid-80s, after graduating with honors from the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in NYC, Regina Maria enjoyed a successful fashion career in various aspects of the industry, from clothing to home environments. She worked both up front and behind the scenes as a fashion designer, sales manager, buyer, visual presentation creator, merchandise director, and store manager in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Maryland. She still enjoys her daily "fashion show playtime," stating, “You learn a great deal about a person before they speak their first word upon entering a room by the way they present themselves.”
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One day, she realized how exhausting the thought process of material things was as her desire to help humanity grew within her. She returned to school for her Human Services Degree, where she reconnected with her beloved twin flame, Kenny Cross, in 1977. After a nearly four-year flourishing courtship, they married in 1981.
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During this time, while gaining experience in the healing field from 1977 to 1983, she interned as an instructor at Providence Center in Arnold, Maryland. PC was an educational work environment for the physically and mentally challenged. She wrote and administered PPOs (Personal Program Plans) after developing curricula for all levels of living. She and her clients were highly aware of their dynamic roles as both teachers and students.
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With a profound desire to create an uplifting and encouraging environment for health and healing, she started her own business. From 1983 to 1989, Regina Maria was the founder and owner of The Last Resort & Fitness First. During this time, she also enjoyed teaching as a Physical Education Instructor at Anne Arundel Community College and through Anne Arundel County Parks and Recreation. Altogether, she taught and choreographed dance (ballet, jazz, aerobics) for both accredited and non-accredited courses, group classes, and private training in toning, weightlifting, weight loss, and nutrition counseling. Regina Maria also co-created the Exercise Physiologist Accreditation Program at AAAC.
From 1986 to 1989, she worked as a Chiropractic Assistant to Dr. Spencer Olson, DC. Together, they built the doctor's new practice, where she managed office operations and personnel, assisted with patient physical therapy and education, and helped design the office space. Under their joint efforts, the practice grew from seeing 25 patients per week to a minimum of 25 patients per day.
Life changed drastically on October 19, 1989. After seven years of “baby questing,” countless tests and surgeries, and five years of excruciating head pain along with other symptoms, Regina Maria was diagnosed with a right temporal lobe meningioma brain tumor. With a low probability of survival, she underwent a craniotomy on November 16, 1989, with her hero, Kenny, by her side every step of the way—before, during, and after surgery. Years of recovery and life-changing experiences followed, including another five years of “baby questing,” during which she and her beloved experienced the highest Divine joys and the lowest, heart-wrenching grief.
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In June 1999, she entered Sancta Sophia Seminary in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Rev. Regina Maria Cross is an Ordained Ecumenical Minister through Light of Christ Community Church, with a Degree in Esoteric Christian Education and Ecumenical Studies (2003) and a Master’s in Spirituality (2012) from Sancta Sophia Seminary. She continues her ministry in good standing through the International Council of Community Churches (ICCC).
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Between her Ordination and her master’s studies, she was diagnosed with two more meningiomas. This time, she was treated through Gamma Knife Surgery. A grateful member of The American Brain Tumor Association, Regina Maria’s journey has been one of healing and spiritual unfoldment—not only for herself but for those ready to embark on their own paths toward discovering their life’s purpose.
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For fourteen years (1998–2012), Regina Maria was the Founder and Spiritual Director of Light Paths * Centre for the Healing Arts on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Light Paths was a nonprofit organization dedicated to individual enlightenment and world service—one student at a time—through both individual and group study. As part of Light Paths, she also served as Director and Certified Teacher for The Sophia School of Wisdom, an accredited outreach center for Sancta Sophia Seminary. Additionally, she was a Board of Trustees Member-at-Large for Light of Christ Community Church in Oklahoma for four years.
Regina Maria is a passionate teacher of esoteric spirituality, known for her direct yet humorous temperament. Her writing, teaching, and counseling style has been affectionately described as “The Ninja Angel—Gently Direct.” Her classes, lectures, workshops, seminars, and retreats are heart- and soul-enhancing, validating her claim: “I am here only to help you remember what you already know.” As one student put it, “That was more than a class; that was an experience.” Another workshop participant was overheard saying, “For someone so little, she sure is big.”
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From an early age—specifically at three years old—Regina Maria knew she could see what others might not notice with the naked eye. She is recognized as an empathic-sensitive, able to communicate with both the seen and unseen—beings from the Angelic, Devic, Animal, Human, or Spirit Kingdoms. Her work in this realm has extended into both medical and law enforcement fields. She is upfront about being called special, often saying, “We all are, as each of us is born with special gifts. It is our way of thanking God when we use them in service to others.”
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Regina Maria is a Certified Traditional Reiki Master-Teacher in The Usui System of Natural Healing and a Certified Breath Practitioner in Rebirthing (both since 1996), as well as a Certified Practitioner in Psychography since 2001.
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She is also a published writer, having penned a monthly column, Just A Thought, for four years in The Record Observer, a newspaper on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Decades ago, she began her writing career as co-founder of Precise, a popular magazine covering Annapolis, Maryland, and its surrounding areas.
Regina Maria’s “Essentially Significant Number One Focus” is her “Fam”—her beloved Kenny—whom she is endlessly grateful to share life with, alongside their pup, Neo. Her Second Number One Focus is her love of writing, one book at a time, for the healing of humanity.
Regina Maria is living well, joyful, and whole with two sleeping right temporal lobe meningiomas.
Shhhhhhhhh… No waking!