Sister Mary Francis

 HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

I came to know of Sister Mary Francis  in my Sagada Minstrel days  in the late 70s to  early 8os  when I was a high school student at St. Mary’s School.  Soft spoken with a contented disposition  is what I remember of  Sister Mary Francis.

A  fleeting  form  who pops in and out of my  existence, Sister once again came to my sight  in the  80s when I entered the dormitory  at the Church of the Epiphany in La Trinidad.

Along with other Sisters, she would  often come in the  mornings for breakfast with Manang Penny Capuyan cooking  their meals. Manang Penny was our dorm supervisor and also one of the  earliest orphans taken cared of by the Sisters of St Mary the Virgin in Sagada after World War 2.  

Two years ago, I saw Sister again when Manang Penny invited me to  do an interview at the  new Convent  she built at the Resurrection Compound in Baguio City. One meeting led to another meeting until I came to know of her demise.  I owe Sister a story. The most that I can do at the moment is this piece I write for her.  I hope to do a longer one some other time.  Sister Mary Francis, 95, died of septic shock June 22 this year.

Sister Mary Francis, from La Trinidad Benguet was christened Paula Dolo before she was professed into  the  Order of  the Community of  St Mary the Virgin after her secondary education. She  finished  her elementary  education at  Easter School  in Baguio City and  proceeded to  SMS in Sagada for secondary schooling  and graduated in 1939.  

At a young age, she demonstrated her love  and care for children.  “She bathed and fed us and checked  our hair for  kuto and kilit  everyday ”, Manang Penny told this writer.  

Taking  care of children was one of the major tasks of  Sister Mary  Francis  and the other Sisters among them Sisters Teresa and Sister Clare.  Other children from  nearby communities  joined  the earlier children at the Orphanage including those from  Guinaang and Dalikan in  Bontoc and  Tadian from where  mission stations  of  the  Anglican  Church  were established.  The Orphanage was a living sign  of  humanity where orphans and indigent children from different locations came in one house to find a second home, or rather a first home.

Regular attendance to church services was a must which children attended,  aside from receiving Bible studies from the Sisters who stayed at the Convent of  St Mary adjacent the  Church of St Mary the Virgin in Sagada.

 Aside from tending  to orphans, the Sisters  taught Christian subjects to children in nearby elementary schools of  Ambasing and  Bomabanga in Sagada

Cleanliness was one of  major virtues  Sister taught the orphans  to include  having  clean  sleeping rooms, a clean  kitchen, clean bathrooms, and clean and green surroundings as well.

The  landscaped gardens with some of the colorful flowers  at  the Orphanage-turned St Jo  Café  and the Convent -turned  Parish Office of the  Church of St Mary the Virgin show signs of  the green thumbs of  Sisters-among them Sister Mary Francis-who kept the gardens managed green and lovely.   

By the early years of 2000,  the Convent  located in Sagada was turned to a parish office by the leadership of the diocese of Northern Luzon led by  then Bishop Edward Malecdan. 

The remaining memories of  Sisters in Sagada also disappeared with the leaving of Sister Mary Francis who had no Convent to stay in anymore.  Sister Clare has gone to the US and other Sisters joined their Creator.  Sister Mary Francis, the last bastion of the Order of  Community of the Sisters of Saint Mary the Virgin left  the Convent.

Glaringly obvious,  the conversion of the Convent into a Parish Office indicated the mortality of Sisterhood of the Anglican Church in Saint Mary the Virgin in Sagada.

I don’t like the conversion. The Convent should have been made primarily a venue  for women and children to  continue the works of the Sisters who lovingly and in the most Christian manner cared for  orphans and children who did not have  parents or whose parents find  it difficult to rear them. Relevant programs could have been done along this line.

Sister Mary Francis had no station to stay anymore in Sagada so she went back to her hometown in  La Trinidad, attending church services at the Church  of the Epiphany and doing visitation of the sick as well along with  other members of the church of Epiphany.  She continues to do her Christian duties and  do the vows  she professed as a Sister of the Community of  St Mary.

With her personal funds along with help from friends, she built the Convent of St Mary the Virgin   at the Church of the Resurrection Compound in Baguio City in the earlier  2000 years with  the  blessings of  the leadership of the diocese of North Central Philippines led by  Bishop Joel Pachao.  She was joined by Sisters Paz, Sister  Inez and Sister Safee.

 She  founded the Associates of the Sisters of  St Mary composed of  some members of the Episcopal Church Women who keep the vocation  going including provisions of material needs of the Convent. Among them AttyInglayFokno, Mrs Epifania  Daoey, and Mrs Hilda  Tadaoan among others.  The Associates  meet  regularly at the Convent and do  Bible studies and visitations of  the sick.

 Sister Mary Francis said she would like to see that the  Convent  continue to exist with the presence of  Sisters and Associates  to continue the task and vocation of  Sisterhood  for  humankind and manifesting  virtues of Christianity.       

 A mother and sister to many children, a teacher, and a nurturer, Sister Mary Francis  continues to touch the lives of every believer  and nurturer of  Christian faith to the rest of humankind.