SAN DIEGO — Sister Mary Waskowiak has been a member of the Sisters of Mercy for 59 years. She has served communities in California, nationwide and even in South America.
Many would say that, at age 77, she deserves to rest.
Rest is the furthest from her mind, however.
“Sister Mary,” as she is known, demonstrates every day that any individual, regardless of age, can make a difference in someone’s life. It can be as simple as showing up.
“I call it the power of presence,” she said in a recent interview.
In February of 2020, just as the COVID pandemic was tightening its grip, she moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Diego.
“I was called by God to be of service to migrant people at the California-Mexico border,” she said.
She put her considerable leadership and fundraising skills to work. Previously, she had served as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
The sister and another member of her order and a handful of others settled in a small building in Barrio Logan that they named “Casa Misericordia,” or House of Mercy. They reached out to long-time community leaders to explore what they could do to help migrants and vulnerable residents. There were overwhelming needs, she recalled, but also great commitment to help.
Some 15 months after arriving, Sister Waskowiak co-founded and now directs the Community Resource Center, which helps the most vulnerable residents of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights.
The center provides one-on-one assistance to individuals and families, helping them to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, immigration services, employment and healthcare. The center, associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, works with many community partners.
“We also have a wonderful crew of volunteers and tutors” who teach English to migrants, many of whom want to improve their language skills to obtain better jobs, she said.
On June 20, Sister Waskowiak was one of the members of the faith community who went to immigration court in downtown San Diego to accompany immigrants at their hearings. The contingent included San Diego Catholic Bishop Michael Pham, priests, deacons and other religious men and women. They sat silently in the small courtrooms and observed the proceedings.
In recent months, immigration enforcement agents have detained migrants as they leave their hearings, and deported them. Some of the migrants had their cases dismissed, while others had a routine check-in with a judge, as they were required to do as their cases advanced. The deportations are part of the massive campaign to deport undocumented immigrants being conducted by the Trump Administration.
An attorney who is at the courthouse regularly said that no immigrant was detained when the members of the faith community were present.
Sister Waskowiak, who learned to speak Spanish, has been able to hear the migrants’ stories.
“They live in such fear, and they live with such great desire to be here, to be safe, to help this country, to help their families,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable what’s happening.”
Jesuit Father Scott Santarosa, the pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe, has come to know Sister Waskowiak.
“Sister Mary is a kind person, a warm person, who invites conversation,” he said. “We regularly share our hopes and dreams for the people of the neighborhood and community. She has also helped individuals in some very important and impactful ways, like traveling far and wide to accompany them in court.
“(Our parish) is a better place because of Sister Mary and the presence of the Community Resource Center.”
Sister Waskowiak makes it a point to reach out to young people — and encourage them to get involved in the community.
“I pass on what I believe,” she said. “It’s one of my passions.”
She’s told them about the opportunity to go to immigration court to accompany immigrants at their hearings, for instance.
“Young people not only can hear stories about what’s going on,” they have a chance to contribute in some way, she said.
“I want to empower young people, so they don’t just get ignored.”
She also has a message for older people — particularly those who have retired.
“Come and see,” she said, quoting the Gospel of John (1:39), when Jesus invited his first disciples who asked him where he was staying.
“Come take a look,” she said. “Come visit me, and let’s walk together at the border or go for a ride together and see what’s going on. See what big and little things you can do by being with people.”
She said some immigrants have called her “abuela,” or grandmother.
“There’s power in being a grandmother or the age of a grandmother. There’s power in being a grandfather. And it doesn’t take a lot of work” to make a difference in someone’s life, the sister said.
The sister said that elders, including the homebound, can certainly pray. They should also ask themselves if they can do more, even offering a simple gesture to someone who may need it.
“Can I reach out and hold someone’s hand, or just say hello?”
Sister Waskowiak is working with women of other religious orders that want to assist immigrants. They have created a nonprofit organization, called the Transborder Coalition, whose focus is to financially support a few shelters in Tijuana and some houses for migrant women.
Amid the despair and loneliness she encounters every day, what gives her hope?
“What gives me hope is that people want to help,” she said.
Casa Misericordia, where her community is based, and the Community Resource Center both run on donations.
“Right now, we’re making it,” she said. “And we are not giving up.”
For more information, visit casademisericordiasd.org.
