Passionist, St. Joseph Sister begin work in the Diocese of Dodge City

The Diocese of Dodge City recently welcomed the arrival of two Sisters -- one from Mexico, the other fresh off a year in Japan -- to help minister to the people of southwest Kansas.

Passionist Sister Maria de los Angeles Benavides, and St. Joseph of Wichita Sister Janice "Jan" Roberts, count several years of ministry between them, and will be a tremendous resource for the diocese.

Sister Maria de los Angeles Benavides recently joined three other Passionist Sisters from Mexico working in Hispanic Ministry at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Dodge City.

Sister Angeles (pronounced "Anhiles") was assigned to Dodge City to replace Sister Antonia Cruz, who returned to Mexico to take care of her sister who has terminal cancer.

Sister Angeles most recently was in ministry at Queretaro, Mexico, where her congregation has a house for street girls. "This is a shelter for girls in the primary grades who have been abused at home or come from broken homes," she said. "They attend school two blocks away and we provide food, shelter and clothing for them. They stay with us through the primary grades and are then transferred to another shelter home. These are girls who cannot return to their own homes (for different reasons)."

Sister Angeles’s other ministries have included working at retreat houses in Puebla and Estava de Mexico, and parish work at Cristo de Rey Church in Lansing, Mich. She also served five years as provincial of the northern part of Mexico and the United States.

Southwest Kansas presents some definite environmental differences from her native Mexico. "It is so windy and dry," Sister Angeles said. "When we went to Ulysses I never saw a mountain on the way and there were no trees at all. But it is beautiful. It amazes me how the weather can change in one day from the cold to the heat. You never know what to expect. You have to expect the unexpected."

The Passionist Sisters minister in the Cathedral parish in sacramental preparation, Hispanic RCIA, ministry to the elderly, visiting the sick, and jail ministry. They also are involved in cultural celebrations that include: quincineros, the day of the dead, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Posados, and the Way of the Cross.

Sister Angeles joins Sister Mercedes Dominguez, Sister Virginia Macedo and Sister Maria Rea. The Passionist Sisters have ministered in Dodge City since 1998.

After spending a year teaching English in Japan, Sister Janice "Jan" Roberts said she is glad to be back in the Unites States and in Dodge City, where, on a blustery day in November, her cat "Cuddles" didn’t know what to make of a visiting cable guy, water guy, and newspaper guy.

"I was very glad for the experience of teaching in Japan," said Sister Jan, who belongs to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita. Much of Japan is not the thriving metropolis people see on TV, she explained. Sister Jan lived in Kyoto, the "old capitol" housing the historic imperial palace. It is a region where, like many other areas in Japan, its residents cling to the old ways.

"I asked them why they still take off their shoes when they go indoors, and why they still use chopsticks when most people have moved onto forks. They said it was their culture, their tradition."

While in Japan, Sister Jan, a native of Independence, Kan., taught English to the Japanese Sisters. Of the 28 million people in Japan, less than 1 percent are Catholic, or approximately 800,000 people.

Sister Jan grew up with 12 brothers and sisters, two of whom have since died. Her father, an accountant, died at a young age in 1973. Upon his death, her mother, up until then a homemaker, served as an accountant and supported the large family.

Sister Jan entered the Mount St. Mary Motherhouse in Wichita 1961, and took her final vows in 1968. Her career as an elementary school teacher and principal would span the next 44 years.

In 1986, a young novice named Janice Grochowsky entered the Wichita motherhouse, and from that point on, Sister Janice Roberts became Sister Jan (but only after getting approval from her mother, she said, smiling).

As her term in Japan came to a close, Sister Jan began to wonder what she would do next. Then she received an email from her old friend, Sister Janice Grochowsky, now diocesan chancellor, inviting her to come to Dodge City.

After Sister Jan and Cuddles get settled in, she said she is hoping to serve in education.