Sixty Years of Presence, Ministry in California
Sister Kathy Izer, SSND
In the footsteps of Blessed Theresa and Mother Caroline, two SSND scouts traveled to California in response to the request by bishops and priests to staff their parish schools. The two scouts, Mother Evangela Wagner and Sister Tolentine Barthel, came to investigate possible sites for SSND missions.
On June 6, 1948, the two arrived in Oakland and gratefully accepted accommodations from the Sisters of Social Service. Although the California Gold Rush took place 100 years before, the SSNDs soon found vestiges of the “old west” were alive and well. They were asked by the Social Service Sisters to look after the convent while they were gone. Sister Patricia showed the SSNDs where the loaded gun was kept and where dimes could be found for the people who would come. This was their first day in California!
The first three SSND missions established in California were in distinct parts of the state. St. Aloysius, Tulare, was the first SSND foundation, situated in the center of the state in the fruitful San Joaquin Valley with its cold, rainy and foggy winters and hot dry summers. St. Jude’s Academy followed in San Diego. Located in the southern part of the state on the Pacific Ocean, it has a mild climate year round. St. Joseph, Holtville, in the fertile Imperial Valley, was the last mission founded in 1948. Holtville lies near the Mexican border in southern desert and has extremely hot summers and experiences flash floods.
The SSNDs' chronicles repeat the themes that convents were not ready for the sisters: Tulare was almost finished, St. Jude had purchased a house as convent but little furniture remained as the previous occupants removed most of it, and in Holtville, the pastor moved out of the rectory so the sisters had a place to stay. The people were generous and brought food and money to the sisters.
The people the sisters ministered to were from multicultural backgrounds, some parents and students did not speak English. In Holtville, 50 students from Mexacali, Mexico, came to St. Joseph’s to learn English.
Sisters in Tulare and Holtville suffered from the heat of summer. It was recommended by Fr. Clark and Bishop Buddy of San Diego that the sisters in Holtville leave for San Diego. They left on September 2 and did not return to St. Joseph until September 23, due to temperatures that rose to over 120 degrees. The sisters in Holtville experienced flash floods and a severe flash flood caused the school to be closed for a “Mud Holiday” because the roads were too slippery for travel. The sisters also learned to adapt to another fact of life in California: frequent small earthquakes and once in awhile a major earthquake. We no longer minister at these three missions, but the legacy continues in different areas of California.
On Sunday, April 26, 2009 the parish community of St. Francis of Assisi in Bakersfield (which is located in the San Joaquin Valley) welcomed many of the SSNDs and associates currently ministering in California along with a number of SSNDs who returned for the celebration. Sister Mary Impelizzeri, the coordinator of worship and liturgy and the director of communications at St. Francis of Assisi, extended the invitation to celebrate with her parish community. Monsignor Craig Harrison, pastor, was the main celebrant at the 8:30 a.m. liturgy.
Sister Joan Markus, provincial, and Sister Francis Rose Rivers, the first native born sister to enter from California, spoke to the parish community during the Sunday Liturgy, about the themes of the multicultural parishes, hospitality and generosity of California’s people. The St. Francis of Assisi Parish Community is a living reminder of these themes. We thank them for inviting us to celebrate in San Joaquin Valley where our California ministry began.
The trials of the early SSNDs have been blessed by God. Since 1948, more than 400 SSNDs have ministered to the people of California. Today, in eight dioceses, 25 SSNDs carry on the mission to make one and transform the world through education. We minister in formal classroom settings in elementary, high schools and universities. In the nontraditional education areas, SSNDs minister in parishes, retreat centers and in health care as a massage therapist. They are chaplains and a program director for a healthcare foundation, and a nonprofit consultant/facilitator, and they serve in ministries of community/volunteer services and prayer.
Of the 25 SSNDs in California, 21 are from the St. Louis Province and of these 21, 11 entered from California. Currently two sisters from Mankato and two from the Atlantic-Midwest provinces minister in California. SSNDs from the Dallas and Milwaukee provinces have served in California.
May God grant us many more years of ministry to California’s people.
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