By Alfonso Aguilar
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 5/19/05)

The community and parents of St. Joseph Pre-School and Nursery in Falls Church will hold a farewell for the religious sisters who have been running the center for nearly half a century.

This June, the Congregation of the Servants of St. Joseph will leave the region, and the school will be administered by parents. Eighty children ages 2 to 6 are enrolled in this pre-school.

"In the new era the school will continue its Catholic philosophy and operate as a cooperative," said Sister Agustina Temprano, one of seven nuns ready to begin a new life abroad and one of three nuns who arrived when the "little school" opened in the 1950s with only three children.

Sister Agustina arrived in 1958, as did Sister Filomena Gajate. Sister Prudencia Gonzalo arrived when the school opened in 1957.

The remaining four sisters are Carmen Guerrero, the Mother Superior; Jacinta Salazar, school director, Josefina Laguno and Celia del Caño.

With the exception of Philippine Sister Salazar, all the sisters are from Spain. Five sisters will return to Spain either for retirement or to continue their religious life in a different venue. Two more will continue their services in Colombia.

In addition to their duties at the congregation and school, the sisters have served in parishes like St. Anthony of Padua and St. James in Falls Church, Our Lady of Lourdes in Arlington and at the Spanish Apostolate.

"I feel good and bad. I have mixed feelings because I love my community, but at the same time because I am going back to my country for good," said Sister Prudencia.

"We feel sad but we understand that it is time for a change," said Sister Guerrero.

The congregation bought its current property in Falls Church in 1968. Over the years the school grew and the sisters were able to provide for themselves and for thousands of students who have passed thorough their doors, a loving and comfortable environment, according to documents written by Ruth Annan, a friend of the congregation.

But it was "a tough beginning," according to Annan. "The sisters knew few people; they were handicapped by the lack of knowledge of English. This, in turn, made it impossible for them to communicate with people who otherwise would have availed themselves of the sister’s services."

Sister Agustina stated, "The philosophy of the community is that the formation of a child is more than just body, but most importantly the soul, which needs to be fed and nurtured as much of the body. We always strive to provide an environment of love, where the children felt at home."

Jaime Smith, father of a student and a parishioner of St. James Parish in Falls Church, said that the new cooperative will maintain the spirit of love and religion begun by the nuns.

"But it won’t be easy without the presence of nuns or priests," he said. "We will have the cooperation of our parish, and we also hope the diocese will assign some nuns or priest to preserve the Catholic atmosphere and education in the school," said Smith, a member of the organizing committee for the farewell celebration.

The farewell will take place at St. Joseph’s Day Nursery and Kindergarten, 203 N. Spring St., Falls Church, on June 4, from noon to 4 pm. For more information contact Amy Chong at Chong.home@cox.net or call at 703/534-9549

The Congregation of the Servants of St. Joseph was founded in 1874 in Spain by Father Francisco Butina, S.J., and Mother Bonifacia Rodríguez Castro. The Missionary Servants of St. Joseph has its Mother House in Spain and maintains schools, hospitals, collages, orphanages and missions in there and in several Latin American countries, the Philippines and in Congo.