September 16, 2025 // Uncategorized

Hispanic Religious Order to be Established in Diocese

Kasia Balsbaugh

This fall, three religious sisters from a Colombia-based order will be establishing a community in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend – the first from a Latin American order to do so.

The order, Hermanas Misioneras Siervas del Divino Espíritu, which in English is “Missionary Sisters of the Divine Spirit,” was founded in 1983 out of the charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church. According to the order’s website, the sisters focus on evangelization and serve in nine countries throughout North America, South America, and Europe.

“Personally, I think this is one of the biggest things for the Hispanic community that’s happened in my time working here,” said Esther Terry, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. “I am so excited because it’s what the people need, and I think it could be really life-changing to know sisters who speak your language and are there for you.”

The three sisters coming to the diocese are: Sister María Eugenia Gomez Duque, who will serve as the associate director of Hispanic Ministry for the diocese; Sister Magaly Jaramillo Restrepo, who will be the pastoral associate at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Goshen; and Sister Ruth Sagastume Escalante, who has been assigned to serve as the pastoral associate at Our Lady of Hungary Parish in South Bend.

The Missionary Sisters of the Divine Spirit first came to the United States for mission work in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Michigan, doing work such as training parish leaders and helping parishioners get to church for the sacraments. Later, they came to the Diocese of Lafayette. So, as Terry told Today’s Catholic, the sisters in the order have been to the north and south of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Conversations with Bishop Rhoades about bringing the order to this diocese began in 2022, followed by many more conversations with the order’s mother superior and local superior.

“They wanted to make sure it’s a good fit, that the vision that Bishop Rhoades had for what people need also matches their charism,” Terry said. “So, it’s been a long process of discernment, even for them to see which sisters they would send based on the needs we have here.”

After the sisters’ coming was confirmed in May of 2023, the visa process and the search for a suitable convent property began. A house owned by the diocese and located across the street from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Elkhart was selected.

The building has been recently used for youth group and Boy Scout meetings, but years ago it was used as a convent. It comprises two conjoined private homes. One half of the house will be the sisters’ private living space, while the other will be more public, used for meetings, offices, and the like. Thanks to an anonymous donor and a bequest from Father Paul Bueter, a diocesan priest who left money after his death for diocesan Hispanic ministry, the convent has begun intensive renovations.

Joe Letherman is the general contractor in charge of the convent renovation project. He and his father’s family have been attending St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Elkhart since it was founded in the 1960s. Letherman, like his four children, attended elementary and middle school at St. Thomas. He remembers by name many of the Holy Cross sisters who staffed the school in his childhood: Sister Dolores, Sister Rose Agatha, school secretary Sister William Joseph, whose look could terrify the young Letherman when he got into trouble. He was glad to hear that religious sisters would be present around the parish again.

“When the sisters and fathers are very prevalent around the school, the kids have a different attitude,” Letherman said, clarifying that the environment tends to be “more respectful.”

“You always felt the Blessed Mother was looking over their shoulders, helping them along,” Letherman remembered about his religious teachers. “Maybe that’s a little corny or whatever, but I just think that that is a factor.”

The convent-to-be needs a variety of renovations before the sisters move in, which they are scheduled to do in early October. Some of these needs included finishing the wood floors, moving a staircase to make room for a chapel, making a main floor bathroom ADA-approved, replacing windows, repainting, and dealing with unexpected discoveries such as finding mysterious pipes in an opened wall.

One of the renovation projects that took the most care was the transformation of a large room into a chapel space fitting for the Eucharist. Several items for the chapel (and the rest of the house) have been donated – pews from the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, some statues from the Victory Knoll sisters, a currently unused tabernacle from a former bishop’s residence. “We’re just kind of treasure hunting to repurpose sacred objects so they can be used for their intended purpose and are not just in storage,” Terry told Today’s Catholic.

Budget notwithstanding, people have wanted only the best for the chapel space. Though at first the intention was to put decorative film on existing windows instead of more expensive stained glass, Letherman pushed back.

“There’s no way – Jesus is going to be in here,” he said. As he put it, “We’re talking about the big guy here; this isn’t just Aunt Julie showing up for dinner.”

Father Ben Landrigan, pastor of Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church in South Bend, has more than one connection to the sisters. His father and uncle are building the custom altar for the sisters’ chapel, and one of the sisters will be assigned to his parish.

Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church was founded by Hungarians and revived about a decade ago by the Hispanic community – an ethnic congregation that Father Landrigan calls a “great dynamic” and a “beautiful fusion,” as evidenced by the side-by-side Hungarian and Hispanic food at parish events. Today, several parish events are in Spanish or bilingual. Father Landrigan expects the sister who arrives at the parish to help with catechesis, and he is planning to discern more specific details with her when she arrives.

However, as Father Landrigan told Today’s Catholic, “More important than any particular tasks is the witness and role a consecrated woman has in the Church.” He added: “Not having religious sisters present is a great lack for the Body of Christ right now. That is the greatest blessing she is going to bring beyond any particular work – showing us what it looks like to be a bride of Christ.”

Father Logan Parrish is pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Elkhart, on which property the convent lies.

“With the growing number of Hispanic Catholics, the needs of the People of God continue to grow, and it is always helpful to have well-formed laborers in the vineyard who are entirely dedicated to the Lord,” Father Parrish told Today’s Catholic about the sisters’ arrival. “I also expect more women in our diocese, especially among Hispanics, to take seriously the vocation to religious life. The joy of religious sisters should not be underestimated!”

An official Mass to establish the religious community in the diocese will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Elkhart on Monday, October 13.