There is no doubt that Sister Teresita Garcia’s personal prayer focus is informed by her life experiences. She prays for “an increase in vocations to religious life and for world peace”.
Born and raised in New Mexico, Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters were her role models and teachers. Sisters Seraphine , Isadora, Sienna, and Clotilda inspired this smart little girl and she loved learning.
The Sisters were a loving and constant presence for the Garcia family. “Once my brother got his driver’s license we would go see the Sisters. Two, three evenings a week, we would knock on their door and visit. It never occurred to us that we might be interrupting something. Yet, time after time they simply opened the door and welcomed us.”
“Bright, ambitious, inquisitive, generous and adaptable,” are the words that big brother uses to describe his sister who was second oldest in a family of 10 children. The description fits.
Her prayers for world peace are informed by 25 years ministering in Chimbote, Peru. She led religion classes and helped found and direct a school of religious studies for teachers. While there, she held positions on the Diocesan Catechetical Commission. Her knowledge of the extreme hardships faced by the people of Peru due to poverty and political and economic unrest were heartbreaking and eye-opening. “My Chimbote experience opened the windows of my soul and my heart for all people. And so I pray for peace.”
