Sister Lupita Marie Cordero was first called to religious life at the age of seven.
“When I was preparing for my first sacrament in 2nd grade I felt the call,” she said. “The sisters were so kind to me and it made a lasting impression on me, I wanted to be like the sisters.”
She then met the School Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Benedict’s School. She remembers telling family members that she wanted to be a sister at the age of 10.
“We had a big church at St. Benedicts and in the upper church they had the high mass which was sung,” S. Lupita said. “I liked it there because the sisters sang and they sang like angels and I wanted to sing like them.”
God then called to S. Lupita again when she was 13.
“I was listening to sister teach and just for an instant I wasn’t there, God called me again,” she said. “And I had an intense desire to teach everybody how much God loved us.”
S. Lupita was professed in 1963 and has spent the last 50 plus years teaching others the charism of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She has spent most of her career ministering in the Chicago-area. Currently she volunteers at Corazon a Corazon in Blue Island, Illinois teaching English as a second language. S. Lupita says she’s like to add to her volunteer schedule and begin teaching the blind.
It’s a cause close to her heart since she has been going bling since she was 50 years old. She has an eye disease that has slowly been taking her sight but she doesn’t let the disability stop her. She and her support dog, Kimball, are always ready to take on the next challenge or adventure.
“I want to help others see what it is to be blind and still walk with the lord,” she said. “I’m trying to prepare to go into a ministry with the poor. It’s scary being out there and not being able to see but there is a trust and a grace that God gives you. My experience is that people are so helpful and they ask to help you.
