Tell us about your growing up years and family.
I grew up in Brownsville, Texas. I had two sisters and nine brothers and was the seventh in the lineup. My father was English and German, and my mother was Mexican. We moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and, while I attended Bell High School, I was very active with Catholic Youth Ministry. After high school, I attended East Los Angeles Junior College and Pierce College in Woodland Hills. In later years, I joined the Conventual Franciscans in Arroyo Grande and was in the first class in the newly built novitiate.
Please share a favorite story about your early community service.
I was in the first class in Los Angeles to become a full-time nonreligious Youth Minister. Six females and six males of college age spent one year at a parish to serve full-time as youth ministers. During my second year, I trained the second class of youth ministers. The experience was so rewarding that I began to consider entering religious life with the Franciscans.
Why did you decide to become an Associate?
While working as Parish Manager at St. Francis in Sacramento, I worked with the Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Christian Charity and was made aware of the associate program. The rest was herstory!
How do you share your Franciscan values and spirituality now?
I currently live in Palm Springs with my husband of 38 years and two dogs, Marco, and Polo. My spirituality consists of daily prayer, reading scripture, and reading about saints and Catholic history. I stay connected to the nonprofit called Franciscan Living founded by Sister Margie Will in Sacramento.
What would you like us to know about being a Franciscan?
We are a family of prayer, supporting each other and making sure that, when we see a need, we do our best to help.
Please share a favorite quote or verse.
“This is not my doing. I am quite unable to carry out such a thing, or even to think it out. It is God who inspired me with the thought. It is God’s work, and God will provide.” (Mother Magdalen Damen)
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Peace and greetings to all from the Franciscan in the desert.