Sister Frances Quiroz, CSJ
My family had its roots in Mexico. My parents, Bartolo and Maria, as well as my oldest brother, Augustine who was only an infant at the time, came to the United States in the early 1900s during the Mexican Revolution. Before coming to the U.S., my father supported the family by working on the railroad network, which I believe was just developing in Mexico. Mom often spoke of life in the boxcar before coming to the States. It was not an easy life, but she enjoyed the travel. My mother’s mom expired several years before my parents married in 1912. As a result of their move to the United States, my mother lost contact with her father and two sisters.
My parents came to the United States through El Paso, Texas and lived in Arizona where my brothers, John and Trinidad, were born. Next they came to California and settled in the San Joaquin Valley in about 1918. They settled on a ranch on a fork of the St. John River. There was also a beautiful creek at the foot of the hills and this is where my three other brothers, Victor, Pat and Nick, as well as my sister Inez and I were born. We enjoyed the wild peacocks, foxes, squirrels and the other wild creatures that lived there. Through the eyes of a child, this was a beautiful setting.
When I was about four or five years old, we moved to the outskirts of Visalia, about fifteen miles from my birth place. We lived amidst a large grove of California Live Oaks. This is where my youngest sisters, Dolores and Catalina, were born. Altogether we were ten children: six boys and four girls. I was the seventh child.
When I was ready to start school, we moved closer to Visalia and this is where Maria, our youngest sibling, was born—but she died a week later. In grammar school I was taught by the Immaculate Heart Sisters. By the time I was in second grade, I became familiar with St. Therese of Lisieux. From that time on, I knew that I wanted to be a Carmelite Sister like her. I even went to visit the Carmelites at Carmel by the Sea and be interviewed to enter their order after high school, but I was disappointed when they told me that I didn’t have a vocation to their community. Even so, the desire to become a Sister remained strong in me.
I also knew the Victory Noll Sisters who were catechists in the area and even went to Huntington, Indiana to visit their community. After my interviews, I entered their postulancy program and was with them for seven months. However, keeping the rules was so important and I did not keep them perfectly. After one mistake, I was asked to leave and I came home.
In 1947, I went to the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. A friend told me a about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and I became a postulant on September 8, 1949. Three days later, I was sent to St. Bernard School in Bellflower to teach the third grade. In March, I returned to the Novitiate to receive the habit and the name of Sister Consuelo.
My other missions were at Corpus Christi in San Francisco; St. Agnes in Point Loma; St. John of the Cross in Lemon Grove; Christ the King in Lubbock; St. Mary’s in Fullerton; Holy Family in Orange; Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Habra; St. Mary’s in Arcata; and St. Joachim’s in Costa Mesa. Those years in teaching extended from 1949 to 1979.
In 1979, I began my hospital ministry. My first hospital assignment was to St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena. There I served as a receptionist and a notary public. A large piece of my heart will always remain there—it was a wonderful experience. Next, I was sent to St. Joseph’s, Eureka to be the Volunteer Coordinator; then to St. Joseph’s in Orange where I served as an interpreter. In 1996, I was assigned to St. Mary of the Plains in Lubbock. With the merger of St. Mary’s and Methodist Hospital we became Covenant Medical Center.
In 1996, working at the newly opened Joe Arrington Cancer Research and Treatment Center at St. Mary of the Plains Hospital, I visited the cancer patients. It was a rewarding experience. I also served as Minister of the Eucharist at the hospital and the skilled nursing facility. It was quite shocking when our convent burned down on Christmas Eve 1999. I also felt the loss of Sister Kathleen Small’s death deeply—she had been such a good friend
and Sister to live with.
The days at Covenant Medical Center were good times and challenging times. Despite all the wonderful experiences, the broad open spaces, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and the unpredictable weather in Texas, I missed being in California and so far from my family.
Next, I was assigned to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. The mere thought of Mission Hospital brings a smile to my face. How I loved working with coworkers and patients there! I was the first Spanish interpreter there—a great challenge! While interpreting, I also had the opportunity to take a couple of classes which opened the door to join the Spiritual Care Department. I am grateful to have been a part of that department.
Throughout my healthcare ministry I served in many different capacities: as the Information Desk Coordinator, Patient Advocate, Spanish Interpreter, Switch Board Operator, and Volunteer Coordinator. I also served as a Notary Public at St. Joseph Hospital. I was privileged to be honored by the National Notary Association in Newark, New Jersey in 1994.
As the years went by—I was aging after all—I was asked to come to Regina Residence. At first, I found the change difficult. At the same time I’ve discovered what a privilege it is to live among good and caring women, in a special way at Regina Residence where we faced physical diminishment together, but I also experienced spiritual wealth among the Sisters. I don’t know if the Sisters in this residence knew how much I loved each and every one of them. I hope so. All these days I thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on me.
As the deer longs for running springs, so my soul yearns for you my God. -Ps 42