The world has radically changed since 1926 when Sister Frederica Horvath founded the Sisters of Social Service in Los Angeles. She and the two sisters who joined her lived in “the little brown house” at 707 West Second Street atop Bunker Hill. The population of Los Angeles stood at 980,000, and it was a half-day's journey by train to Oxnard. The combined income from the three sisters totaled just $100 per month.
The Sisters of Social Service arrived on the scene wearing simple gray dresses at a time when nuns wore long black veils and stayed in their convents. And these new sisters didn't stay in their little home either. Sister Frederica was seen on the streets around the Cathedral at Second and Main, visiting families and finding food and clothing for the very poor. She went about without a companion, observing no law of cloister, because the Community saw itself as called to be in the world, at the service of the world, called to “go about doing good”, as Jesus did.
Sister Frederica came to the United States as an immigrant, still learning English. The early sisters lived in such poverty that Bishop Cantwell helped establish the Social Service Auxiliary to raise funds to pay for their house. But as young American women joined them, the work was expanded to include catechetical and census work in parishes. Soon the children in the juvenile detention center were being served. Next came Stella Maris, initially a residence for working women; Camp Mariastella; and Holy Spirit Retreat Center for days or weekends of prayer.
When it became financially possible to send sisters to school for Master's Degrees and Doctorates, professional counseling became important work and the Community's efforts were extended to include parish services, youth programs, settlement centers, community organization, advocacy, and a host of other professional social services. Our focus has been the poor, the homeless, the battered and the forgotten - all with a special focus on the needs of women, children and families. Within time, ministries were started in Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael, Vallejo, Portland and Kansas City. By 1946, the sisters had established a presence in Shanghai, China, their first international endeavor.
The Second Vatican Council asked each religious community to go back to its foundation, to rediscover its own charism. For the Sisters of Social Service, the effort to clearly articulate their charism brought about a deeper awareness of the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The sisters' social service ministry has always had its own particular flavor because we are challenged to be attentive to the Holy Spirit and to live out of an informed social consciousness.
Vatican Council II also brought about new opportunities for service by sisters. When Pope John XXIII asked American religious communities to consider sending workers to Central and South America, we responded by opening our first house in Mexico, initially staffed by Mexican-American sisters. The Community also had sisters who were natives of China and had been driven out of Shanghai during the 50's by the political situation there. In 1963, the Community re-established our mission among the people of China on Taiwan. Thirty years later, our Philippine ministry was established.
Today the Sisters of Social Service and Associates continue to work rooted in the understanding that "we who have more, must in justice and in love share our resources and ourselves with those who have less, for we are equally daughters and sons of the one God."
