Isolina Ferré

Infobox Person
name=Sor Isolina Ferré


image_size=
caption=
birth_name=
birth_date=September 5, 1914
birth_place=Ponce, Puerto Rico
death_date=August 3, 2000
death_place=Ponce, Puerto Rico
death_cause=
resting_place="Cementerio Las Mercedes"
resting_place_coordinates=
residence=
nationality= Puerto Rican
other_names=
known_for= Humanitarian work
education=
employer=
occupation= Catholic nun
title=
religion=Roman Catholic
parents=Antonio Ferré and Mary Aguayo
relatives=Luis, Joe, Carlos, Hernan and Saro

Isolina Ferré Aguayo (September 5 1914 – August 3 2000) was a Roman Catholic nun. Ferré was born in Ponce to a wealthy family, she was one of five siblings, Jose, Carlos, Hernan, Rosario and Puerto Rico's former governor Luis A. Ferré. Other known members include Rosario Ferré and Pablo Casals. When she was 21, Ferré traveled to the United States where she commenced her novitiate. After five years, she completed the solemn vows. As part of her religious work, Ferré travelled back and forth between Puerto Rico and the United States during the following decades, serving as an abbess in Cabo Rojo and New York City

During this timeframe, she attended various universities in the United States, studying sociology and arts. After working as a member of New York City's Committee Against Poverty, to which she was appointed by Mayor John Lindsay, Ferré decided in 1969, to set her permanent residence in Ponce, specifically in the poor sector of "La Playa". Here, she was responsible for opening a small hospital and a school named "Centro De Orientacion De La Playa" in the area, which would later become "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré". Due to her humanitarian work, Ferré became known as the "Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico".

Early life

Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Antonio Ferré and Mary Aguayo. Born into a wealthy family, she was one of five siblings, including Luis, Joe, Carlos, Hernan and Saro.Mendoza et al.] Throughout the years, the Ferré family was owner of several companies in Puerto Rico, ranging from factories to newspapers. However, she was inclined towards religious life from a young age. Her father was Catholic, but he changed to Freemasonry, because he wanted to fulfill a request done by a friend that had just died.Ramos et al., p.43] The other members of the family attended a church named "Iglesia de la Monserrate" located in Hormigueros. Aguayo used to spend time in beneficial activities, often donating toys to orphan children.Ramos et al., p.45-46] However she contracted filaria, which limited her activity. Due to this, Ferré's older sister, Saro, was responsible for her upbringing. When she was three years old, Ferré entered a religious school named "Colegio de las Madres del Sagrado Corazón", where she gained interested in the habits practiced by the nuns. Ferré traveled throughout Ponce with some of the family's employees, becoming familiar with the neighborhoods and its inhabitants.Ramos et al., p.50-53] Whe she was young Ferré thought that poverty was voluntary, realizing that it wasn't during her adolescence, when some of her childhood friends appeared intimidated by her presence.Ramos et al., p.54-55] During this timeframe she practiced tennis and ciclysm, and taught Catechism.Ramos et al., p.64]

Religious career

Novitiate

When she was sixteen years old, Ferré enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico's campus in Río Piedras. She subsequently moved to the "Orden De Las Siervas Misioneras De La Santisima Trinidad" (Order Of The Missionary Women Of The Holiest Trinity), where she resided while studying. While in the university, Ferré developed a interest in opera and literature. She continued practicing tennis, eventually practicing with Rebekah Colberg. Shortly after completing her first semester, Ferré returned to her home, where she was informed that her mother was in critical condition. Aguayo died the next morning, moments after Luis arrived from the United States. She resumed her studies, working intensively, concentrating between work and tennis. Due to this her health was affected, a radiology illustrated damage in her lungs and the doctor attending her prescribed one year of rest.Ramos et al., p.66] The condition worsened and she moved to Adjuntas briefly, until the symptoms completely disappeared one month later. Joe Ferré would become part of Luis Muñoz Marín's government, and explained to her the details of Operation Bootstrap and Operation Serenity.Ramos et al., p.67] Interested in this second project, she organized a group of delivery boys and shoeshiners, founding a candy distribution system. Ferré and some friends also preached to workers in sugar plantations, often visiting their houses in the evening. In 1933, she took mechanography classes, interested in creating a company.Ramos et al., p.69] She left their house to join a convent shortly after her 21st birthday, after receiving permission from her father.Ramos et al., p.60] Before entering she decided to swear a chastity vow. After arriving in Philadelphia, she spent her first year involved in a series of religious activities, including some "spiritual exercises" where she was only allowed to speak in the confessional.Ramos et al., p.82] Her first mission took place in a small town of Norton, Virginia. Here she meet the priest of a community of Polish miners, where they performed a series of domestic labors.Ramos et al., p.83] She continued working on other missions, receiving occasional visits from her siblings. She eventually joined a Novitiate in New York City. She was one of the few novices that knew how to drieve in this convent, and served as driver.Ramos et al., p.92] While in New York, Ferré felt symptoms of Appendicitis, and was rushed to a Philadelphia hospital.

Work as a nun and Mother Superior

Five years after beginning the missions, Ferrer swore the solemn vows.Ramos et al., p.93] She was subsequently moved from Long Island to Cabo Rojo per request of Ponce's Bishop. Upon arriving, they were received by a procession. As part of this mission, the nuns organized baseball teams and sewing schools.Ramos et al., p.101-102] She continued working in this convent for 11 years, until she was promoted to abbess. Ferré remained in Cabo Rojo for six more years, until she reached the limit that a Mother Superior can work within the same mission. She was then moved to Hato Rey, where she was relocated to a religious school.Ramos et al., p.108] Here she replaced part of the institution's materials, using part of a savings account created by the previous directory. Shortly after she contracted Sepsis, and was removed from the position. Some time later Ferré traveled to the The Bronx, were several of the nuns that studied with her in Philadelphia resided. This congregation focused their attention in discouraging street crime. One day, Ferré was forced to dress a gang member in nun's clothing, to confuse members of a rival gang. Due to this, she was promoted to abbess of the convent.Ramos et al., p.121-122] She led the other nuns in an effort to revitalize the city's landscape. Due to this initiative, New York's governor Nelson Rockefeller, awarded her the city's "Republican Woman" recognition.Ramos et al., p.127] The community elected her as their official representation in New York's "Committee Against Poverty", but she declined and granted the position to another Puerto Rican resident, this was done because Mayor John Lindsay, had previously appointed her as his personal representative. Ferré focused her work in promoting education among street gangs. The convent originally called "Dr. White Catholic Center" was renamed to just "Dr. White Center", interested in promoting community acceptance regardless of religion.Ramos et al., p.128] During this timeframe she continued her education, briefly attending Holly Family College and completing her bachelor's degree at St. Joseph's College for Women. After a sting as a teacher in Philadelphia, she was sent back to New York in order to complete further studies. Ferré completed a sociology master's degree at Fordham University, submitting a thesis based in the strengths and weaknesses of Puerto Rican families that faced conditions of discrimination and poverty after migrating to the city.Ramos et al., p.146-147] Her final work in the United States took place in Chicago, where she adriestated a group of Puerto Rican community leaders.

Founding "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré"

In 1968, she was sent to "La Playa", a poor sector in Ponce where the Ferré family had built a dispensary, to treat a vesicular condition.Ramos et al., p.157] She was operated and remained in rest for a month, spending this period visiting adjacent barrios and reading. Ferré then began promoting community restructuring, rehabilitating several buildings with the help of her brother, Joe. Upon arriving, she was responsible for opening a small hospital and a school named Centro De Orientacion De La Playa (La Playa Orientation Center), dedicated to providing educational courses, extracurricular activities, and day care services to low-income families. With the cooperation of a Methodist reverend, she founded an industrial sewing school. They also created a baseball team named "Las Latas Stars" and an equestrian club.Ramos et al., p.166] Ferré promoted cultural events, reestablishing traditional celebrations and organizing activities focused on theatrics, ballet, modeling and sports. Seeking to resolve a personnel deficiency in some petrochemical factories, Teodoro Moscoso suggested to them the creation of a welding school. The institution was built adjacent to "Porto Rico Iron Works", which used to belong to the Ferré family, remaining active until 1972.Ramos et al., p.172] This initiative was followed by a photography laboratory, which served to illustrate "El Playero", a local magazine.Ramos et al., p.175]

Ferré and the community of "La Playa" designed a proposal to work with juvenile delinquency, which suggested that they were placed under custody by their community, being treated with respect instead of as a criminal. The program was based in a system designed by Charles Grosser named "Advocacy", eventually being known as "Advocacy Puerto Rican Style".Ramos et al., p.177] This method gathered interest from community leaders in the United States, who were interested in duplicating it. The program gathered interest from politicians, which she used to suggest another proposal, suggesting the creation of a Diagnostic and Treatment Center. They received a million dollars to build the institution, which was built in a terrain in barrio "El Ciclón".Ramos et al., p.178] While attempting to eliminate prostitution, Ferré rented a local that was used as a bar, opening a technological center.Ramos et al., p.179-180] In 1975, the center would face some economic losses, following an accidental fire and a flood, when Hurricane Eloise passed trough Puerto Rico.Ramos et al., p.181-182] By this time a series of small centers had been founded, as part of an initiative that was denominated religious "urban guerrilla". Due to this the organization's work remained unaffected, moving their operations to one located in an abjacent barrio.Ramos et al., p.225] Ferré established the center's headquarters in a building that used to belong to the employees of her father, which had been renamed "Dispensario San Antonio" years earlier. This was donated to a local convent, who turned it into a corporation in 1950.Ramos et al., p.212] The community of "La Playa" decided to rename the "Centro De Orientacion De La Playa" to honor her, successfully launching a campaign to name it "Centros Sister Isolina Ferré".Ramos et al., p.181-182] Saatchi & Saatchi, the advertising agency in charge of the center's publicity, subsequently changed this name to "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré".Ramos et al., p.267]

Later life, declining health and death

She was elected as a delegate in the "World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women", organized in 1980. [cite book| title=List of Delegates to Conference; Chairmen Delegate Members | publisher="The New York Times"| date=1980-06-17| pages=C16] When interviewed, Ferré stated that while the organization is run by funs from the state and donations from the private industry, she tried to keep both separated from the church. During the 1980s, most of the funds for "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré" were provided by Rafael Hernández Colón, who promoted the establishment of a new center in Caimito, Puerto Rico.Ramos et al., p.233] One day, Ferré decided to intervene in a hostage situation, where two young men were threatening to open fire if the police entered the house. She was able to enter the house and the father confessed that he was responsible for the incident, after he hit one of his sons as punishment.Ramos et al., p.242] The two men used the distraction to escape by jumping to the sea, but went to Ferré's center in search of medical attention. She contacted the police, and convinced them that they wouldn't be arrested if they went to a hospital. This convinced her that the community needed more police attention, eventually employing a Japanese initiative named Koban.Ramos et al., p.243] Based on this, a group of officers moved to one of the residences that comprised Caimito's center, visiting the other houses in a daily basis. When Hurricane Hugo affected Puerto Rico, "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré" cultivated 10,000 trees in a greenhouse, intending to help the government deal with the deforestation left by the storm. One day, Mother Teresa visited Ferré while she was preparing a educative initiative.Ramos et al., p.246] Both nuns discussed theology and social and humanitarian work, reaching the conclusion that while they used different methods, their goal was the same. On the morning of July 22, 1985, Ferré suffered a heart attack. She remained hospitalized for some weeks, before undergoing Cardiac surgery.Ramos et al., p.261] In 1989, she was selected to receive the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism. [cite web| url=http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/vol4n02/ProfileFerre-en.html| title=Puerto Rico Profile: Sr. Isolina Ferre| publisher="Puerto Rico Herald"| date=2000-01-14| accessdate=2008-07-27]

By the 1990s, the centers had created 50 different initiatives, of which 40 proved successful.Ramos et al., p.247] In 1993, Ferré received the Hispanic Heritage Award in the "Education" category. [cite web| url=http://hispanicheritage.org/hispanic_det.php?id=37| title=HHA Honorees: 1993| publisher=Hispanic Heritage Foundation| accessdate=2008-07-27] In March, Ferré organized the first International Congress of "Centros Sor Isolina Ferré", which focused in community development and youth upbringing. The activity was attended by several religuous and political figures.Ramos et al., p.224] In this year, the center also reported that their social programs directed towards juvenile crime had been successful. Reducing the frequency of crime in the locations adjacent to the centers by 20 %.Ramos et al., p.241]

Ferré's efforts in "La Playa" were written and chronicled in Puerto Rican books and newspapers, as well as in publications from other Latin American countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. She earned twelve honorary doctorates from different educational institutes, and more than 64 entities awarded her recognitions. [cite book| title=Schedule of Commencement Exercises| publisher="The New York Times| date=1982-05-16| pages=Section 11, p.20] Ramos et al., p.230] Her effort was recognized by President Bill Clinton, who awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony in the White House, an honor previously awarded to her brother, Luis. [cite web| url=http://www.medaloffreedom.com/SisterIsolinaFerre.htm| title=Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Sister Isolina Ferré| publisher=medaloffreedom.com| accessdate=2008-07-27]

In early 2000, Ferré began experiencing some health afflictions, reporting some improvement in July. [cite book| title=Mejora estado de salud de Sor Isolina Ferré| publisher="El Vocero"| date=2000-07-19| pages=28] After confronting respiratory problems, she was hospitalized at the Women's Hospital in Ponce. Ferré died on August 3, 2000, shortly before her 87th birthday, after more than half a century of public service. [cite web| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/08/03/obit.ferre.ap/index.html| title=Sister Isolina Ferre, Medal of Freedom recipient, dies at 85| author=Associated Press| publisher=CNN| date=2000-08-03| accessdate=2008-07-27] Her body was buried in "Las Mercedes" cemetery. After Ferré's death, the centers continued functioning, with José Díaz Coto being named director. Preventive programs have been enacted with cooperation from Puerto Rico's departments of Family and Justice. On May 16, 2008, the institution reported a reduction of 2% in juvenile delinquency, on sectors of Ponce adjacent to the centers.cite web| url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/otras/noticias/centros_sor_isolina_ferre_ayudan_a_reducir_delincuencia/191118| title=Centros Sor Isolina Ferré ayudan a reducir delincuencia| publisher="Primera Hora"| language=Spanish| date=2008-05-16| accessdate=2008-07-27]

ee also

*List of Puerto Ricans
*Roman Catholicism in Puerto Rico

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

*cite book| last = Mendoza | first = Sylvia | title = The Book of Latina Women: 150 Vidas of Passion, Strength, and Success | publisher = Adams Media | year = 2004 | isbn = 1593372124
*cite book| title=La Madre Teresa Hispana: Isolina Ferré| author=Pepe Ramos| publisher=Humánitas| loaction = San Juan, Puerto Rico| language=Spanish| year=1993| isbn=

External links

* [http://www.csifpr.org/main.htm Centros Sor Isolina Ferré]