- June 9, 2021 Sister Stories, Community
Sisters Return to the Border to Welcome the Dear Neighbor
By Jenny Beatrice, Director of Communications
The CSJ Border Ministry continues with numerous sisters making return trips to the border to welcome the dear neighbor in need—a ministry supported by many helping hands and generous hearts.
Since 2014, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet have been volunteering with Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, an organization that provides food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs to migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S./Mexico border. Here they are able to contact their family members or sponsors who will provide them with transportation to the next step in their journey—a place to call home in the United States.
On April 14, Sisters Maureen Freeman, Jo Ann Geary and Sandra Straub, who have each served at Annunciation House numerous times, once again made the 19-hour drive from St. Louis to El Paso in a van filled with donations made possible by the generosity of the greater St. Louis area community.
After going through Annunciation House’s 10-hour orientation (“We were whipped,” says S. Maureen), they served at Casa del Refugiado, the organization’s largest facility. The 500-bed center, located in a converted section of a 125,000 square-foot former warehouse, shelters very short-term guests who have just been released from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Some guests arrive at Casa del Refugiado wearing only the blue t-shirt and gray sweatpants that they are given by ICE at the detention center. Providing families with new clothing items is priority. The sisters worked mainly in the clothing room, sorting bags and boxes, organizing the inventory and helping guests find what they needed.
The sisters also went shopping, purchasing items such as maternity clothes, children’s clothes, shoes and jackets—all with the donations from generous supporters. One purchase that made a big difference was clothing racks. “It is now much easier for the volunteers to find things for a guest,” says S. Maureen. “It’s heartbreaking when you don’t have the right shoe size for a child and find it the next day in a bag that hadn’t been opened yet.”
Nurse practitioner S. Jo Ann organized the medical clinic room and was called on to assist with medical issues as well. “Even though I don’t speak the language, it’s important for me, personally, to be there to say by my presence that ‘You are welcome,’” she says.
S. Sandra values the collaborative aspect of this ministry and is energized by working with others, whether it be our own sisters, other religious or the lay men and women who volunteer. “There’s nothing greater than having people who have the same values you have working side-by-side through a project,” she says. “This is about human kindness and care … this is what it’s really all about.”
Sister Pat vanden Bergh of Green Bay, who has been to El Paso four times, arrived at Casa del Refugiado in May with Sister Doreen Glynn of Albany. “The situation changes quickly and the needs of the people are constant,” Sister Pat says.
S. Pat dispels the dangerous myth that the migrants are “illegal.” “Each guest who enters Casa del Refugiado has in hand a folder full of official government papers, giving permission to enter as well as the name of the family member who will receive them in the states,” she says.
The ministry continued back in St. Louis as Sisters Mary Louise Basler, Marilyn Lott and Nancy Marsh, along with Associate Maureen Wessels and Sister Christian Price, ASCJ, met Marie Kenyon at the archdiocese’s Rigali Center to sort, pack and label boxes of donations for the border. Marie Kenyon, director of the archdiocese’s Peace and Justice Commission, was instrumental in spreading the word throughout the St. Louis community and coordinating the collection effort.
On May 14, S. Maureen hit the road again, this time with Sister Linda Straub, to bring the haul to Catholic Charities’ hospitality center in Laredo, Texas. S. Maureen says that the Laredo center is smaller than the El Paso center with fewer volunteers. Intake and dining are done outside because there is no room large enough to account for social distancing. The sisters brought medical supplies but there is no practitioner to dispense them. Clothing items are taken quickly. “The beautiful thing is we kept running into children and adults that were wearing the clothes we bought,” S. Maureen says. “There is so much need.”
The sisters’ border service is not limited to Texas. Sister Patrice Coolick, who has been to El Paso four times, returned for a second time to serve at the San Diego border with Sister Teresa Kvale of the Los Angeles province. “I want people to know that they are just like us,” S. Patrice says. “They want what we all want and have: to be safe, to not fear for their lives and the lives of their children. They want food, shelter and a future.”
If you wish to continue our ministry, please click here to donate online or send your donation to:
Mission Advancement Office
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
6400 Minnesota Ave.
St. Louis, MO 6311