The journey from Venezuela to Chicago for Dr. Carlos Fernandez may not reflect the path followed by the many recent arrivals he serves as a Catholic Charities volunteer, yet it does reflect a sense of family — and a sense of home.
With a warm smile and welcome, Carlos, 78, helps serve more than 140 guests every Tuesday at the Sister Joyce Dura, O.S.F., Supper Program, many of them recent arrivals from his native Venezuela. His wife of 46 years, Mary Jane, joins him as a volunteer.
“Some people come very depressed,” Carlos says. “We need to lift them up. I treat these people like my family, I treat them with respect, I empathize with what they’re going through.
When you start working with the people like I’m doing, I feel like I’m getting a lot of positive things from them. I am giving to them but they are giving back to me. Holy moments everywhere.
Taking care of neighbors
Carlos retired last January after practicing medicine in the Chicago area for 46 years. He turned to a trusted friend and spiritual advisor who recommended he volunteer weekly at Catholic Charities, and he’s glad he did.
“This is a holy place, and I have a holy moment every time I’m here,” Carlos says of Catholic Charities at 721 N. LaSalle St. “There’s something different here — some positive energy.”
He shares that spirit with people who are homeless and in need, whom he encounters when he volunteers, working with many recent arrivals. He speaks of his love for the people of Venezuela; he is saddened by the political and economic strife they face and tries to connect with them during their visits. Although many won’t speak of their former government for fear of retaliation, Carlos recognizes they are faith believers and lends a helping hand.
“I always like to help people because of my profession,” Carlos says, adding that faith also plays a role. “Take care of your neighbor as yourself, and I have no problem taking care of the poor, that’s where I came from.”
From poverty to service
Carlos was born in Caracas, Venezuela. As a child, his father had worked in the Spanish mines and then went on to serve in the Spanish Civil War until he was injured, later fleeing to Venezuela with his young wife. There, his father became a truck driver and his mother, a homemaker who cared for their three children. They lived in poverty, Carlos remembers, but his faith was inspired by a neighbor who took him to Catholic Mass every Sunday. He carried forward those early memories of faith, building on that foundation as he grew, later graduating from medical school in Venezuela and qualifying to practice gynecology and obstetrics in the United States.
In 1974, he joined the residency program at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, where he met wife who was a nurse in labor and delivery. He opened his private practice on the north side three years later, specializing in prenatal care and labor deliveries for many impoverished, Spanish-speaking Chicago women.
“It’s a wonderful experience, the miracle of life,” Carlos says. During the last 10 years of his career, he specialized in gynecological ultrasound for childbirth, fertility, and cancer patients.
Building a welcoming community
Carlos brings that same spirit of service to his volunteer work at Catholic Charities, where his wife, Mary Jane, has also found joy in serving.
“I love the sense of community we have here, the people we work with, everyone is so kind, and I love the people, they all have a story,” Mary Jane says, adding how volunteerism has enhanced their lives. “This is very special for us, it’s brought us closer together, we both love it. [Retirement] was such a change for him and a change for me having him home, this really helped. Everyone is so full of faith here.”
The couple has three adult children and five grandchildren and now live in Wrigleyville.
“I’m living the American dream,” Carlos says.
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