Called by name: Sister Guadalupe Cardenas, CSC

by Pamela Welch, CSC

Many of us remember wondering, when we were children, “what we would be when we grew up.”  Sister Guadalupe, known affectionately to friends and family as “Guadie,” recognized her call to religious life at the early age of 16.

Her family was a big influence on her.  In spite of their poverty and experiences of loss, members loved and cared for one another.  It was in such a family that Sister Guadalupe’s desire to love and serve others was inspired and nurtured.

Family is very important to Sister Guadalupe. Here she is enjoying a visit with her grandnieces and grandnephews, Vincent, Carmen, Savilla and Spencer.

Sister Guadalupe was born in Mexico, the youngest of four daughters.  Her parents named her María Luisa.  When she was 5 years old her father was killed in the 30-year revolution against the Diaz dictatorship and her mother sought safety for the family in the United States.

For a short time her family lived with her mother’s brother and wife in Ventura, California, before moving to a house of their own a short distance away.  However, they lived in their new home only a short time, because her mother was unhappy with the local school that María Luisa attended.  Mrs. Cardenas packed up her family for the third time and moved back to Ventura, where María Luisa could attend Holy Cross Elementary School and receive the education her mother was seeking for her youngest child.  This is where she first met the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

From the very beginning María Luisa liked Holy Cross School.  She especially liked Sister Lorenzo, CSC, her first and second grade teacher, because she exemplified strength in character and integrity.

“When you did something good,” Sister Guadalupe recounts, “she told you; and when you did something that was not good she told you.  You knew you deserved the praise or punishment.”

María Luisa wanted to grow up to be like Sister Lorenzo but didn’t think she wanted to be a teacher.  Nevertheless her admiration for Sister Lorenzo and other Sisters of the Holy Cross continued to grow as she experienced their kindness, generosity, strength and leadership.  When María Luisa told her mother that she wanted to enter the Congregation, her mother told her to go talk to their parish priest. (At that time a young woman needed two recommendations to enter the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross — one from her doctor and one from her parish priest.)

Father Hurley was not as supportive as María Luisa had hoped.  He said, “María Luisa, your mother is not well, and you are the only one at home now to help her.  Think about your decision for a couple of weeks and then come back and talk with me.”

María Luisa was disappointed in Father Hurley’s response.  Her desire to be a sister was strong.  Seeking assistance with her decision, she told her sister, Carmen, about her dilemma.  To her surprise and joy, Carmen and her husband Ray responded, “As long as we have beans and tortillas your mother will never go hungry.” Their response allowed her to respond to God’s call.  When she conveyed her sister and brother-in-law’s response to Father Hurley he gave his support and recommendation.

The Cardenas sisters at a family reunion in Ventura, California. (Front, Connie Quevedo and Catalina Osuna; back, Sister Guadalupe and Carmen Ramos)

The family doctor declared her in good health, all except for her tonsils.  Sister Annette suggested she take Friday off from school, have her tonsils out on Saturday and then return to school on Monday.  This she did.

When she returned to school the following Monday, Sister Borromeo, who prepared the meals at Saint Catherine’s Convent, asked her to come to Saint Catherine’s each day to have lunch with the sisters. María Luisa enjoyed the daily soup and bread more than usual since her recent surgery had made it difficult to eat.  The kindness shown by Sister Borromeo during this time was a significant experience, and deepened her already growing desire to spend her life helping others.

With her letters of recommendation finally written, Sister Bernardis helped her get ready to enter the Congregation.  Another Holy Cross sister, Sister Lorenzo, told her stories about religious life. As she sewed one of skirts of the two habits required upon entering, Sister Lorenzo shared some of the experiences that María Luisa might encounter.  The skirt she was sewing at the time was the one María Luisa chose to wear to Saint Mary’s.

Finally on a bright sunny California Sunday morning in 1932, her mother and sister brought her to the train for South Bend, Indiana. As it happened, Sister Franceline was already going to Saint Mary’s to celebrate her final profession and so María Luisa was able to accompany her as her companion.  (In those days each sister had to have a companion when traveling.)  Having someone with her helped quell the anxiety of traveling across country to an unfamiliar place.

Her first year was not all happiness and joy.  Many of the Midwest community members did not understand her Mexican culture, and some unwittingly asked impolite questions.

María Luisa’s first reaction was to leave Holy Cross and she went to Mother Remigius, the mistress of novices, and said she wanted to go home.  Mother Remigius listened compassionately and then asked her to wait in her office until she came back.  Upon returning, Mother Remigius had Sister José María, another Mexican sister, with her.  Sister José María had been assigned to be María Luisa’s “novice,” the sister who was to instruct her on the protocol of religious life and provide support during her initial days in the community.  Mother Remigius instructed the two of them to “take recreation” down by Our Lady of Peace.

Sister Guadalupe remembers how Sister José María “talked and talked and talked” to her that afternoon out by the statue of Our Lady of Peace on the Saint Mary’s campus.  At one point she had a chance to tell her she wanted to go home and why she had come to this decision.  José María simply said: “You don’t want to go home,” and started talking again.  Finally, as María Luisa was listening to José María, she realized that she really didn’t want to go home and so she returned to the convent.  After that Sister José María watched over Sister Guadalupe attentively and helped her along the Holy Cross path.

After making first vows on January 6, 1935, Sister Guadalupe was sent to Boise, Idaho, where she worked in the hospital fluting sisters’ caps and taking care of the dining rooms for the priests and sisters.  She worked on her high school diploma at the same time.  She found working at the hospital was a challenge only because most of the sisters she lived with were heads of nursing floors and were often called back to the hospital in the evening.  For a young woman used to living with a loving, active family, this made life lonely for the young sister.

It wasn’t long before Mother Claudia, the provincial, came for her annual visitation with the sisters.  In an interview with her Sister Guadalupe realized that hospital work was not for her; her real dream was to teach small children.  But that took education; so Mother Claudia assigned her to St. Theresa Academy, where she tutored children while finishing her high school degree.

In 1938 Sister Guadalupe made her final profession.  For the next several years she taught at Saint Alphonsus School in Fresno, California, Holy Cross School in Ventura, California, Saint John School in Fresno, California, and Saint Charles School in San Francisco, California.  Her desire to “teach small children” was at last fulfilled, with many children enriched by her kindness and fortitude.

Years later, after major back surgery, Sister Guadalupe changed her ministry from teaching to pastoral ministry.  She began visiting the homebound people in the area, bringing them the Eucharist and personal and spiritual support.  She found this ministry to be very satisfying.  Even so, it didn’t last long because she was soon asked to do social work for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.  This proved to be a pivotal point in her development.

During the time of her ministry at Saint Vincent de Paul she had the opportunity to live with several Filipino sisters from another congregation.  This proved to be a good cultural experience for her since, in her earlier years, she had been subject to cultural animosity between Filipino and Mexican people.  However, time had healed some of the old wounds, and her living experience with the Filipino sisters taught her that cultural background is never a barrier to sharing Christ=s love.

After that Sister Guadalupe enjoyed parish ministries in California and Texas and would have been satisfied to continue that work until retirement, but God had another plan.

When she was 75 years old she received a call from a Holy Cross brother in San Antonio, Texas.  Brother Stanley, a physician, said he would like it if she could come and work in his clinic with other Holy Cross priests, brothers and sisters.  Her ministry would be simply to “help people feel at home.”  Since hospitality came naturally to Sister Guadalupe and she loved working with the larger Holy Cross family, her immediate response was “yes.” For “five wonderful years” she worked at the clinic.

At age 78 her sisters urged her to retire, but she felt she still had the energy to minister a while longer.  When she was 80 she agreed to retire and moved to the retirement house in Ventura, California.  When her health began to fail Sister Guadalupe moved to the motherhouse at Saint Mary’s in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Today one would most likely not recognize her as a “retired” sister, since she ministers to many other Holy Cross sisters by visiting, praying and sharing the smile that speaks of a life being lived well — for the love of God.

Long-time friend and former student Joyce Lattig Schnabel enjoys a happy reunion with Sister Guadalupe at Our Lady of Peace Retreat House, Beaverton, Oregon, 2001.