Catholic Extension Society launched the first of many initiatives this week to support the community of Uvalde, Texas, following the devastation of the Robb Elementary mass shooting.
Camp I-CAN, which stands for Inner strength, Commitment, Awareness and Networking, provided third, fourth, and fifth graders a safe space to heal, have fun, and gently reintegrated the children into a school-like setting around their peers. The majority of the children who attended the camp are survivors of the Robb Elementary mass shooting, although all Uvalde children of age were invited to participate.
Healing for Uvalde children
The camp is led by Sister Dolores Aviles—a Uvalde native—as well as 13 other religious sisters. It was held July 25 to July 28 at the St. Henry de Osso Project Center in Uvalde.
The camp offered a host of programs for the children, including:
faith-based activities,
arts and crafts,
30-minute intervals of physical activity,
a game room for playtime,
music and entertainment led by the sisters, and a family supper for the children and family members.
Building Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde
The program arrives 116 years after Catholic Extension Society first sent support to the small Texas town. Our executive board members gathered in 1906, within the first year of our founding, to approve support for a rural community called Uvalde.
The grant supported the construction of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Twelve years later, Catholic Extension Society also supported the construction of Sacred Heart Catholic School, also in Uvalde.
Our early founders were surely not aware of the profound future results of these actions.
Following the shooting, these two Catholic institutions have been among the most significant for this shocked and grieving community.
Thousands have come to Sacred Heart Church in recent months, not just because the vast majority of the victims happened to be Catholic, but because the parish is still a natural place of convening, where people find strength and hope in one another.
Sacred Heart School has also been an important pillar in the community. After Catholic Extension Society helped build the elementary school, the Teresian Sisters arrived in 1913 to teach. They have remained ever since. They too could not have envisioned the future results of those actions.
Perhaps one of the most consequential outcomes of the founding of the school was the enrollment of a 5-year-old kindergartner, Dolores Aviles, in the early 1960s. By the time she graduated eighth grade, she had fallen in love with the mission of the Teresian Sisters and decided to join them in 1976 while in college.
As a religious woman, Sister Dolores has mainly served as an educator in Texas. Since 2012 she has had the special honor of being in her hometown of Uvalde, ministering to the very people she grew up with.
Among those who perished in the school shooting were her own family members—three children of her cousins. To say that she mourned would be an understatement. At the end of a week in which 21 funerals took place, mostly for 10-year-olds whom she knew personally, and some of whom were family or former students, Sister Dolores simply collapsed in physical and emotional exhaustion.
She asked herself, “Is this a nightmare that I’m going to wake up from?” The pain of burying so many of her beloved people had taken its toll. But she did not stay down long. She cried, rested, prayed and sought her purpose.
Just days after the atrocities in their otherwise quiet community, Sister Dolores and her three fellow Uvalde-based Teresian Sisters, Sister Clarice Suchy, Sister Mary Lou Aldape, and Sister Dolores Esparza, were already planning what they could do to serve the grieving community.
Naturally, they decided to focus their efforts on the very people who are at the heart of their ministry: the children, parents and families of Uvalde.
One of their initiatives was the creation of Camp I-CAN. This program was the first of many that Catholic Extension Society will be funding over the next 18 months.
In June, Catholic Extension Society was awarded a grant by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to support the ministry of these sisters and invite other religious sisters from across the region and nation to support their healing ministries.
Up to 100 sisters from 20 to 25 distinct congregations will take part in special events throughout the year as a sign of solidarity with Uvalde.
The grant will also help establish a tuition scholarship program for Sacred Heart School, which serves pre-K through seventh grade. Many families have sought to transfer their children from the public school where the shooting occurred to the Catholic school.
Oscar Orona’s son was one of the children wounded in the shooting. As Orona continues to help his son heal, he is looking to transfer his son to Sacred Heart. Our tuition scholarship program will help the Oronas and more families provide their children with a loving learning environment.
When Sister Dolores received news of the scholarship fund, she wept for joy because she is the one talking to families seeking to transfer their children to Sacred Heart School. This includes the parents of a boy who was shot and survived. The family is in need of a full scholarship.
Catholic Extension Society continues to accept donations for this scholarship fund. Donations will be matched, and the unmet financial need remains great. Donate to the scholarship fund here.
Finally, Catholic Extension Society will also dedicate funds to support ongoing mental health programs to augment existing services as needed, with the help of Catholic counselors.
When we witness tragedy and atrocity, a natural reaction is to feel helpless. These four Teresian Sisters are showing us that there are things within our power that can make a difference.
With the support of so many people inside and outside of Uvalde, the sisters feel that they are not alone.
That’s what community is. We support each other. God sends us out two by two.”
Donate here to support the work of the Catholic sisters in Uvalde. Thank you for extending God’s healing love to this hurting community.
