Spirit Awards

Sister Teresita Rodriguez named diocesan honoree

By ROSE YBARRA
The Valley Catholic
BROWNSVILLE - “My vocation story is simple,” said Sister Teresita Rodriguez of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. “I had always, always wanted to be a religious sister for as long as I can remember.”

When she was in middle school in her native San Benito, Sister Rodriguez was ready to give her life to Christ’s service. She wanted to join the Sacred Heart Sisters, who taught in her school. In 7th grade, however, she was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which caused heart damage. The Sacred Heart
Sisters asked her not to enter the convent until she had fully recovered.

Determined to become a religious sister, she went in search of another community to join and was ultimately introduced to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament by her pastor. She entered the community in September 1952 and made her first profession of vows in June 1954.

“God called me and put the desire in my heart, and I just kept pushing,” Sister Rodriguez said. “But he had to lead me where he wanted me, not where I wanted to go. This is where I was meant to be, and I’ve been quite happy.”

Sister Rodriguez, 75, has served as a teacher and/or administrator at schools in Alice, Beeville, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Goliad, Laredo and Port Isabel and most recently taught religion to 7th and 8th graders at Guadalupe Regional Middle School in Brownsville.

Sister Rodriguez is the 2012 diocesan honoree for the annual Spirit Awards Banquet, which honors excellence in Catholic education while raising funds for the diocese’s tuition assistance program.

The event is set for Friday, Jan. 27, at Our Lady of Sorrows School in McAllen.

“Sister Teresita was a natural choice,” said Lisette Allen, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Brownsville. “She is a dedicated and loving person who has faithfully served as a Catholic educator in our diocese for many years.”

Allen continued, “I had the opportunity a few years ago to sit in her classroom and observe her with the students of Guadalupe Regional Middle School. She is very devoted and committed to the whole child ensuring that they all feel loved and appreciated which naturally opens up the doors to learning. She is admired and respected by her students, past and present, her colleagues and the Catholic community valley wide. It is an honor to name her the 2012 Diocesan Catholic Schools Spirit Award honoree.”

The Spirit Awards are part of the annual observance of Catholic Schools Week, which begins on Jan. 29 and ends on Feb. 5. The 2012 national theme is Faith, Academics, Service.

“I feel humbled because why give me an award for something that I love to do? For something that has given me life?” Sister Rodriguez said. “I feel grateful that the diocese wants to say thank you.”

Sister Irma Gonzalez of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament said that Sister Rodriguez is a loving teacher and administrator. “She’s like a magnet,” Sister Gonzalez said. “I have never seen kids flock to a person like they flock to her.”

Sister Gonzalez also noted that Sister Rodriguez has been involved in many community organizations, such as Pax Christi and Valley Interfaith. She is also a member of the diocesan school board.

“In and out of school, she’s very active, and that helps her keep in touch with what’s important for
schools and schoolchildren,” Sister Gonzalez said.

Number four in a family of eight children, Sister Rodriguez also felt called to be an educator at an early age.

“I used to tutor kids in my neighborhood who had difficulty,” she said. “I enjoy helping kids learn.”

Six of the eight Rodriguez children ultimately became educators. Their mother also taught early childhood classes after raising her own children.

“Education is in our blood,” Sister Rodriguez said.

For the first time in decades, Sister Rodriguez did not report for duty at a school this past autumn.

“Right before school started this year, they discovered the tumors,” Sister Rodriguez said, who is undergoing treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Sister Rodriguez has found a silver lining in her cancer diagnosis.

“Although I’d rather be teaching, I guess that’s not what God wants,” she said. “I have more time now to pray and spend before the Blessed Sacrament. I have more time to visit the elderly, more time to read. I love to read.”