Pope Francis

Women of Faith
Locals continue to be drawn to joy, ministry of HCG sisters
by Jerry Circelli
Correspondent
In designating “2015, The
Year of Consecrated Life,”
Pope Francis urged religious
men and women who have given
themselves to God to respond
by being joyful.
That was a welcome invitation
to Hermanas Catequistas Guadalupanas
(HCG) Sisters Patricia
Gonzalez and Diana Rodriguez
serving in the Diocese of Fort
Worth.
Sr. Patricia leads adult formation
and religious education at Our
Lady of Guadalupe Church in Fort
Worth. Sr. Diana is the newly appointed
director of the Diocese of
Fort Worth’s Cursillo Center.
Responding to God’s call with
joy comes naturally to the HCG
sisters and is in keeping with their
order’s charism. “Our founders
asked us to be simple and joyful,
and to be of service to others,” Sr.
Patricia explained. “That’s part of
who we are,” Sr. Diana echoed in
agreement.
Sr. Diana continued, “You
have to be joyful because you’re
following Jesus. He’s a joyful person,
and that’s what you have to
bring out to the people. In our life
there is that joy, because we have
Him constantly. We have Eucharist
every day, we have chapel, we
have our meditation, prayers — I
mean, we just have Him. He’s the
center of our lives.”
A native of Fort Worth, Sr.
Diana was attracted to the joyfulness
in the HCG sisters who served
in the local diocese when she attended
All Saints Catholic Church
in the 1970s.
“I saw their work, but what
caught my attention was that they
were always happy,” Sr. Diana said.
“They were always smiling. There
were five sisters and they would
always be together. Their happiness
and joy inspired me.”
In 1979, Sr. Diana entered
formation with the HCG sisters at
their motherhouse in Saltillo, Coahuila,
Mexico, and made her final
profession of vows in 1989.
After serving in the Church
in Mexico and the United States
at locations in Kansas, Oklahoma,
and Texas, Sr. Diana returned to
her home diocese of Fort Worth in
2007. At Our Lady of Guadalupe
Church, she worked closely with
Sr. Patricia in adult formation and
religious education. Sr. Diana said
she will be focused on strengthening
Cursillo programs and training
Spanish-language catechists as she
enters her new assignment as director
of the diocese’s Cursillo Center.
Like Sr. Diana, Sr. Patricia
grew up in Fort Worth and ultimately
returned to her home diocese.
Our Lady of Guadalupe was,
in fact, her parish as a youth. Sr.
Patricia joined the HCG sisters in
Mexico in 2001, making her final
profession of vows in 2013. Similar
to Sr. Diana, she was attracted to
the HCG sisters who came before
her.
“What impressed me most
is that they knew the people and
were dedicated to them,” Sr. Patricia
said of the local HCG sisters.
“Looking back, I see it similar to
the Good Shepherd who knows his
sheep and knows their needs.”
Sr. Patricia said she learned
from others in the order “to teach
the younger generation not so
much by what you say, but what
you do.” That lesson inspired her.
“To me that was a great motivation,”
Sr. Patricia said. “That’s how
Sr. Diana Rodriguez (L) and Sr. Patricia Gonzalez
(R)) pose for photos with then-Bishop elect Michael
Olson on the day of his first Mass as shepherd of the
diocese. (Photo by Juan Guajardo / NTC)
the sisters interacted with me, and
I was able to see how they were
committed to their work.”
The HCG order was founded
in 1923 by Monseñor Jesus Maria
Echavarria y Aguirre in Mexico.
He was proclaimed “venerable” by
Pope Francis in February 2014.
“It’s one of the biggest joys
that we have,” Sr. Patricia said of
the process underway that could
mean her founder will someday be
proclaimed a saint.
The HCG order is dedicated
to their founder’s work of
evangelization, catechesis, and
Christian education. Sisters have
served locally since 1952, when
the Diocese of Fort Worth was
still part of the Diocese of Dallas.
Currently, the order’s 140 members
serve throughout Mexico, and in
Oklahoma and Texas.
“We are given this opportunity
to give our lives to God as
they did back in those early days,”
Sr. Patricia said. “Every minute is
worth it, and we say a prayer every
morning that all our work is for
Him.”
In summary of their work, the
sisters shared that prayer:
HCG Offering of Our Works
“Oh Jesus, sovereign priest, I offer
and consecrate through the Immaculate
Heart of Mary all my actions,
my prayers, my sufferings, all my life
in love for you and in union with
your Sacred Heart.”
Hermanas Catequistas Guadalupanas (HCG)
sisters serving in the Diocese of Fort Worth
Sr. Diana Rodriguez
Director of Diocese of Fort Worth
Cursillo Center
Sr. Patricia Gonzalez
Director of Religious Education for
Adults; Our Lady of Guadalupe
Parish in Fort Worth
Page 29 North Texas Catholic September / oCtober 2015