Deacon Jesus Quiles Serves at Sacred Heart

by Carole Anne Scott

Ordained to the permanent deaconate on May 23, 1982, Jesus (pronounced “Hay-Seuss”) Quiles has been serving the Church of Boston and its people in this capacity for the past twenty-five years. Now he is helping out as a deacon at our own Sacred Heart Parish within whose Roslindale boundaries he resides with his beloved wife, Palmira. The couple has been happily married since October 4, 1953. Jesus credits Palmira with unfailingly supporting his work as a deacon and with serving as his best critic. He confided that “Palmira listens to each homily before I preach it. She tells me if it isn’t right.”

An electrician by trade, Jesus is retired and now does only occasional small jobs, leaving the large regular work to Nicholas and Joseph, the two of the couple’s four sons who followed in their Dad’s footsteps. Their other sons, Junior and Angelo, work at the gas company and at a cleaning company, respectively.

Born in Puerto Rico, Jesus came to our area in 1953, the same year he was married. At the time, his older sister was living in Boston and her being here was instrumental in his decision to live here too. After a few months, he returned to Puerto Rico to marry Palmira and bring her to Boston as they began their new life together.

Jesus was one of nine children. All but one of them emigrated here. Four of his siblings were boys, and one of the younger boys is none other than Deacon Francisco Quiles, who served at Sacred Heart for many years. Francisco is now living in Florida, but hopes to sell his home there and return to our area shortly. Of that prospective move, Jesus said, “I wish that he would come back soon, so we can work together.”

It is unusual for two brothers to both become deacons, but not so unusual when their background is taken into consideration. Jesus explains, “Our parents brought us up in the Catholic religion. Our father was not a churchgoer at the beginning, but our mother always was. Every night she would gather everyone to pray the Rosary.”

Mom’s influence on her son’s religious life spanned the decades. Back in 1967, Jesus had started attending the Spanish Mass at Holy Cross Cathedral and was soon called to become a lector in Spanish. He then became very involved in the Cursillo program. Father Berruete of the Cathedral’s pastoral staff noticed Jesus’s gifts and asked him to consider joining the deaconate program. Jesus confided, “When the priest asked me if I was interested in becoming a deacon, at first I refused, but my mother kept after me, so I decided to give it a shot.”

Bishop Daly ordained Jesus at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jamaica Plain, a parish now closed by Reconfiguration. He worked there for the next eighteen years as a deacon. In addition to his regular service to the parish, which included performing weddings and baptisms, visiting the sick, and preaching, Jesus was also active in several other ministries to the wider community.

For over thirty-four years, he has continued his work with the Cursillo movement. In fact, he and Palmira are currently assisting Sacred Heart associate pastor and priest assigned to the Spanish community, Father John Mendicoa, with this important work at Sacred Heart. Deacon Jesus also still assists with Archdiocesan Cursillo retreats twice a year. Particularly rewarding to him is this work of providing advice to couples who are experiencing difficulties in their marriages.

In the 1970’s, Jesus served on a special committee at Logan Airport whose purpose was to welcome Spanish travelers to our area and assist them with any problems they might experience. Every Sunday he also faithfully visited the Nashua Street jail in Boston where he preached to the inmates. Deacon Jesus particularly enjoyed this ministry and regrets having to give it up. “In winter as I grew older, it became too much,” he plaintively explained.

In large part, it is a Sacred Heart parishioner, Pilar Latorre, who is to be thanked for the blessing of having Deacon Jesus in his current post among us. One day after the Spanish Mass, Pilar asked Jesus if he was currently serving anywhere as a deacon. When he said no, she immediately spoke to Father John Mendicoa who called him to inquire about the possibility of his helping out here. Following a meeting and approval by the pastor Monsignor Kelley, Deacon Jesus began his work at the Parish in August.

At the time of our interview, he had been on the job for only two weeks. Already busy in his new ministry, he had preached twice at the Spanish Mass and had assisted Father John in baptizing thirteen children. Deacons are authorized by the Church to baptize. In an interesting twist, Father Mendicoa did the readings at the service while Deacon Jesus actually did the baptizing.

In addition to performing baptisms, Deacon Jesus’s duties at Sacred Heart will include reading and preaching the Gospel, officiating at funerals and weddings, and leading retreats. Of all his many and varied tasks, Deacon Quiles most enjoys preaching and particularly likes giving talks to couples.

When asked if he would recommend the deaconate to other men, Jesus’s response was a resounding “Definitely yes.” He went on to point to the fact that in addition to inspiring his younger brother Francisco to become a deacon, Jesus also inspired his friend, Jose Perez, to consider this call; Jose will be ordained to the deaconate next year.

The Quiles home is a busy one. Their sons often return with their families to visit. Of that fact, Papa Quiles quipped, “They miss Mama’s food and Dad’s preaching.” Jesus and Palmira have eight grandchildren, with the boys outnumbering the girl by seven to one. They even have one of their grandkids staying with them while attending college.

His life is very busy and active, but Deacon Jesus prefers it that way, saying, “I have more time now, even though I am still working. I hate to be around the house doing nothing.” With all that he has to occupy him, it seems as though there will be little time for that!

Among Deacon Quiles’s special treasures is a letter that Humberto Cardinal Medeiros sent to him on the occasion of his ordination to the deaconate. When serving as a lector at Holy Cross Cathedral, Deacon Jesus had often been on the altar at Mass with the Cardinal. During that time as well, two of the Deacon’s sons were altar servers at the Cathedral. The family had gotten to know the Cardinal quite well.

In the letter, Cardinal Medeiros wrote in Spanish to offer Jesus his personal congratulations, thanks, and best wishes. In one particularly moving line, the Cardinal stated, “Si algo hay en la vida que la haga digna de vivirse es el gastanla en el trabajo apostolico por Dios, y en bien de neustros hermanos, los hombres, por el amor a El,” which roughly translated reads, “If something in life makes it worth living, it is to do apostolic work in life for God and for our brothers and sisters, all for the love of God.” Certainly, Deacon Jesus has lived out this call and this mission in his life. We welcome him and wish him every blessing as he continues his ministry of service to God’s people here at Sacred Heart.