Joe-Ellis

"Coming Home Thank You”

Today is an extra-ordinary day! It’s better than “Visiting Sundays”

and definitely better than “Common Sundays.” Today, we are

celebrating “Coming Home” for the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ

Sisters who served at Angel Guardian Orphanage, as we also

celebrate AGO’s 150th Anniversary. To me it feels like a family

reunion, a very big family reunion.

During my workshops to become a tree steward, I learned the best

time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. I also learned that the

second best time to plant a tree is today. I feel the same about why

I’m here today. For the Sisters who cared for us, taught us, fed us,

mentored us, guided us and did so much during our formative years,

our gratitude should have been expressed years ago but with age

comes wisdom. And so, I acknowledge today that the second best

time for the AGO kids to say thank you to all you Sisters is right now.

Who Were These Angel Guardian Kids?

Thousands of kids came through Angel Guardian, most from families in crisis. Every child who arrived at AGO had his or her own story. For me, I arrived with one bag of belongings but I had a lot of baggage. I was seven years old and, by then, I had not seen my mother or sister for 3 years. I was a latch-key kid during those years and I was often left alone when my dad went to work or to a local bar. Like any child under the age of 7 and left alone, I explored the world around me with no guidance. Eventually, I became an issue for juvenile services and I was sent to the Audy Home, like a number of kids from Angel Guardian. The Audy Home has been regarded as “One of the worst, if not the worst, juvenile detention center in the country.” While I was there, I was so miserable and alone that when my dad finally visited me, I was unable to tell him how felt. All I could do was sit on his lap and cry.

In an article in the Southtown Daily, Sylvia Huante talked about her being placed in Angel Guardian with her sister, Theresa. For two years following the tragic death of their mother, the family struggled, moving from apartment to apartment and, at times homeless, living in hallways and stairways. Sylvia and her sister also were placed in the Audy Home. Sylvia was quoted in that article, saying: “I remember looking out the windows, watching everyone go about their lives. If only they knew how lonely it was in here. I thought we were never going to see the outside world again, we were lost forever!!! Doesn’t anybody know we’re here? Doesn’t anybody care?”

In his master’s degree thesis, James Chambers evaluated the intake process of the Audy Home and said: "Dependent children need sympathetic care, not guards.” How ironic it is then that when children, like Sylvia and I, left the Audy Home, we were sent to Angel Guardian where we found “sympathetic care.” Sylvia, her sister and I were just a few of the thousands of children who showed up at Angel Guardian, each with our own bag of belongings and baggage.

What Did the Sisters Do and How Did They Make a Difference?

The Sisters did more than just provide “3 Hots and a Cot” at Angel Guardian. They worked with each child within the social dynamics of the cottage group. Each child had barriers that needed to be broken down. Each child needed to learn to trust again and each child had behavioral issues that needed to be addressed. That’s just the beginning. Think about that! Each of these thousands of children—Each one responding to the circumstances affecting them in their own unique way--needed to be taught how to work together, play together and live together. They needed to re-learn how to feel like a part of a family. After being betrayed by, forgotten by or separated from the people they loved, they needed to learn how to trust again. And, yes, kids act out when they are afraid, angry or have no sense of right or wrong. They needed to learn what appropriate behavior was, to be held accountable for their actions and to accept responsibility.

At Angel Guardian, I saw the Sisters doing this every day. As a result of their work, I saw kids change; I changed. Because the Sisters cared, we learned to care. Because the Sisters believed in us, we learned to believe in ourselves. And, because the Sisters were faithful, we learned to trust.

We may not have known it then but, in hindsight, we know that their work was difficult. While I was working in the maintenance Department at Angel Guardian, I once walked into a cottage for a repair and saw a sister sleeping on one of the sofas, exhausted and never noticing I was there. Another time, I went into a dining room where I heard a Sister yelling at her kids, “I can’t take this anymore.” Their work was frustrating, at times, and tiring but, as difficult as it was, their work was also important, meaningful and made a difference. To many of the AGO kids, the Sisters were mother figures. And as we often hear about mothers: “A mother’s work is never done.” Because of their efforts, the Sisters were true angels and mothers in our lives and brought us to where we are today.

The Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society website acknowledged the special gifts and talents that the Sisters embodied at Angel Guardian as follows:

“The Sisters successfully ran Angel Guardian Orphanage, experiencing trials and hardships as they struggled to provide for the children in their care. They served as a prime example of womanhood for the young ladies in their care…. They courageously exemplified…traits of self-sufficiency, frugality, and independence during adversity and success alike.”

I’d like to add that the Sisters also served as positive examples for the “young men” who saw these women of courage, character and leadership as role models.

I personally can see a connection between my career of managing equal opportunity programs for the State of Iowa and what I learned from the Sisters about diversity and women in responsible leadership roles and nontraditional jobs. I also appreciate their open-mindedness when they allowed me to take a shorthand course in high school. And, yes, I was the only boy in the class.

When the class of 1964, my class, graduated from high School, Sr. Angelona wrote a parting message to the graduates in the Wings newsletter. She said: “If each one of you acts his or her part in life well, and lives up to the standards that have been set for you at Angel Guardian, you will have much influence for good; you will be appreciated, trusted, esteemed and admired by others. Be kind in word, pure in thought and helpful in deed….” She went on to say: “As you leave Angel Guardian filled with these lofty conceptions of the world’s needs and of your duty in helping supply these needs, the credit is due to Almighty God, Whose rays of Divine Wisdom have illuminated your minds and hearts, aided by the zeal and untiring labors of your Priests and Sisters. Pray for them in gratitude.”

This is a timeless and inspiring message. It also remind us to keep the priests and Sisters in our prayers and to remember that they, like Pope Francis who asked for us to pray for him during his recent visit to the United States, also need our prayers. Now, on a personal note, there were some areas where I was not very prepared to leave Angel Guardian:

1. First, it took me five tries to get my driver’s license. Maybe, I would have been more successful at getting a driver’s license if Sr. Damian had given me driving lessons.

2. Secondly, when I did my laundry for the first time, after leaving Angel Guardian, my whites were pink for the entire following year. I learned very quickly to pay the extra money to use a second washer.

3. Thirdly, I needed to use a cookbook the first time I cooked after leaving Angel Guardian. I was cooking scrambled eggs! During my life at AGO, food just showed up on a “Gig.”

Even though I questioned how well I was prepared for the outside world, the truth is that, where it mattered, the Sisters at Angel Guardian got it right. You gave us the care that was essential for us to move on in life as loving, caring people who understood responsibility and who had the tools and character necessary to face the challenges that life would bring. For that, we were blessed and are grateful for you being in our lives.

You Sisters are here today for your “Coming Home,” not just because it’s the physical location of Angel Guardian Orphanage but because of what you did here. You cared for the AGO kids and you improved their lives. I am just one of the thousands of kids whose life was changed by you:

• Sr. Johnilda is the mother I never had and Angel Guardian was my home growing up. Without her efforts, I would have remained the cold, detached and lost child who showed up on Angel Guardian’s doorstep. I would have been unable to understand or value what was being offered to me here.

• Sr. Sylvester gave me a trumpet and encouraged me to continue playing when I left Angel Guardian. Because of her, I will be a part of the music liturgy today.

• Sr. Angelona introduced me to volunteers Pete and Mary Lou Pederson who became lifelong friends and who gave me a home while I was in college.

• Sr. Joan helped me find a summer job at St. Mary’s College in Minnesota where I ended up enrolling, graduating and using that education to pursue a graduate degree and a career.

Other Sisters:

• Taught us to read and prepared us for the sacrament of Holy Communion like Sr. Barbara.

• Got us curious about science, like Sr. Victoriana.

• Got us interested in current affairs and politics, like Sr. Peter.

• Made complex math easier to understand and introduced us to writing for a school paper like Sr. Lorraine.

• And Sisters, like Sr. James and Sr. Lucy, who remained connected with the AGO kids letting them know that they were still cared about and remembered—using social media, at times, and always with a smile.

So many Sisters, I wish I could mention them all, did so much. Sisters, Angel Guardian alumni are here today to celebrate you and thank you. We each have our own stories about how you changed our lives for the better. With gratitude being the remembrance of the heart, you have our heartfelt thanks. So we celebrate with you your coming home."

"Coming Home"/150 AGO Anniversary Celebrations”

October 31, 2015