Tuesday, April 11, 2000
A new role, a new mission
Mother-turned-nun assists Hispanics
By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Her children call her Sister Mom, and the Spanish-speaking parishioners at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption call her “Madre.”
Sister Juana Mendez, 49, the mother of three children from an annulled marriage, and a Sister of Charity nun since 1997, is comfortable with both.
She is equally at home with her job of two months, serving the Diocese of Coving ton's Hispanic population.
She is at the Cathedral 40 hours a week, translating for Spanish-speaking parishioners, singing in the choir, venturing to area farms and tending to Hispanics' secular and religious needs.
Sister Juana has accompanied people to clinics, called 911 when cars were broken into, opened utility and phone accounts, and helped other Hispanics solve basic transportation problems.
The Diocese of Covington saw its Hispanic population jump 49 percent — to about 2,481 — between 1990 and 1998. The increase prompted the cathedral to offer a Span ish-language Mass about two years ago. The weekly Sunday service now attracts about 275 people.
Sister Juana was born in Puerto Rico and spent most of her life in Cleveland. She is fluent in Spanish and relishes the opportunity to help her fellow Hispanics. She would like to work more with those between the ages of 18 and 25 and do more evangelical work.
“I'm a people person,” she said last week, waiting for choir members at Howard Hall. “I'll do whatever it takes to make them happy, even if they run a little late for practice.”
Sister Juana lives on the College of Mount St. Joseph campus, where she is studying for a bachelor's degree in religious studies. She entered the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1995.
She attended Catholic schools in Cleveland. She always wanted to be a nun. She gave up on that dream when she married at 18 and had three children.
The marriage was annulled after about five years. She eventually became a busing supervisor for Cleveland public schools.
Throughout these years,
she taught Catholic school religion classes. Her dream to become a nun was reborn after she read a book about St. Elizabeth Seton, the first American-born saint and the founder of the Sisters of Charity.
St. Elizabeth was a mother of five. She became a nun after her husband died.
Sister Juana said her own three children, who now are between 25 and 30 years old, have been very supportive of her out-of-the-ordinary career. They like to call her “Sister Mom.”
The Cathedral's parishioners took to calling her “Madre,” Spanish for “mother,” soon after she was hired by the Cathedral. The term is used for nuns in Spanish-speaking countries.
The Rev. John W. Cahill, rector and pastor at the Cathedral Basilica, appreciates Sister Juana's work.
The Rev. Mr. Cahill said his Spanish is good enough for Mass but not for establishing relationships with the Hispanic community. That's where Sister Juana has helped.
He credits her outreach efforts and Spanish-speaking skills for increasing attendance at the Spanish-language Mass by about 30 percent.
“She's been getting close to the people,” he said.
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