[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In Mexicali, Baja California, there is a home where the Franciscan mission is expressed through care, hospitality, and fraternity. This is Casa de Paco, an institution that, for over thirty years, has provided free support to individuals with terminal illnesses who lack financial resources and have been left without a support system.<\/span><\/p>\n Its official name is La Familia de Paco, A.C., though it is commonly known as “Casa de Paco”, taking the affectionate nickname (“Paco”) used in Mexico for those named Francisco. Currently, this endeavour is part of the mission of the Franciscan Province of St. Jun\u00edper Serra.<\/span><\/p>\n The home is located in Mexicali, a border city where summer temperatures can reach 52 degrees Celsius (125.6\u00b0F). Amidst this extreme climate, the home offers care, companionship, and a space where those who are ill can live out their final days with dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/casa-de-paco-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Mural con fotograf\u00edas de residentes de Casa de Paco, acompa\u00f1ado del emblema de la instituci\u00f3n y s\u00edmbolos franciscanos.” title_text=”casa de paco” _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”406px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The story of Casa de Paco began on the 17<\/span>th<\/span> February, 1994, when Dr. Jos\u00e9 Trinidad Villa and his wife launched an initiative to provide a home for people with terminal illnesses who had no family or financial means.<\/span><\/p>\n The project arose in response to the plight of individuals suffering from HIV\/AIDS, cancer, and other incurable conditions, people who, in addition to facing the approach of death, were also enduring abandonment and loneliness. Among them were also individuals who had been deported from the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n To bring this dream to life, the couple even contributed a significant portion of their own family assets. The initiative began modestly, caring for a few patients in a rented house in the Pueblo Nuevo neighbourhood, with a capacity for fifteen people.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1997, the government of Baja California granted a plot of land for the construction of the permanent facilities. Construction began in 2000, and in September 2002, the patients were moved to their new home.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Casa_Paco_4.jpg” alt=”Sala de Casa de Paco en Mexicali decorada con globos, figuras religiosas y adornos festivos para una celebraci\u00f3n.” title_text=”Casa_Paco_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||33px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”11px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”516px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n A few years after the foundation was established, the Franciscan friars began visiting the sick. These visits became increasingly frequent, until eventually some of the friars began living there. During this initial phase, their presence was primarily focused on providing human and fraternal companionship, without taking on any administrative responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n Over time, that closeness took on a new dimension. In 2017, the Franciscan Province of St. Jun\u00edper Serra assumed institutional responsibility for the administration of Casa de Paco, ensuring the continuation of its founders’ vision.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Jos\u00e9 Trinidad Villa passed away in March 2022, leaving the friars with the responsibility of carrying forward the project to which he had dedicated a large part of his life.<\/span><\/p>\n For Fr. Felipe de Jes\u00fas Santiago Ortega, OFM, the Provincial Minister, Casa de Paco is not merely a project managed by three friars, but a responsibility shared by the entire Franciscan Province.<\/span><\/p>\n Maintaining the institution financially is an ongoing challenge. Nevertheless, the Provincial Minister highlights the support received from the bishop, the diocese, the faithful, and various benefactors. He also expresses a desire to strengthen the Franciscan presence, noting, “We would like to have five friars there.”<\/span><\/p>\n One of the aspects he values \u200b\u200bmost is that the care is provided entirely free of charge; no one pays for the services they receive. In his view, this work represents “a concrete, Franciscan way of being present on the peripheries.”<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Fr. Jes\u00fas Enrique Armenta, OFM, the director of Casa de Paco, sums up the institution\u2019s purpose with a simple phrase: <\/span>it is not so much about curing as it is about caring.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n This statement helps clarify the nature of an endeavour that began not as a hospital, but as a home. Its mission is to provide those who are ill with a family-like environment where they can receive palliative medical care, nourishment, hygiene, psychological and spiritual support, and\u2014above all\u2014the human closeness that has so often been missing from their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n The primary criterion for admission is the extreme vulnerability of individuals with terminal illnesses who lack both the financial resources and the family support to care for them. The institutional protocol requires a medical diagnosis with a life expectancy of less than six months, as well as documented evidence of abandonment.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, life does not always follow medical prognoses. Some people who arrived expecting to stay for only a few months ended up remaining there for years. Others experienced improvements that allowed them to regain a degree of autonomy.<\/span><\/p>\n Currently, Casa de Paco has the capacity for about forty people. When I visited the project, there were sixteen residents\u2014eight men and eight women. Not everyone was necessarily in a terminal phase; some had psychiatric conditions, whilst others had physical limitations that prevented them from caring for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n Two staff members look after the residents during the day, and one is on duty at night. A doctor provides services three mornings a week, remains available for emergencies, and supervises nursing students who volunteer at the facility.<\/span><\/p>\n Financial support comes from donations, aid projects, and various fundraising activities\u2014most notably an annual raffle in which the entire Franciscan Province participates.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/casa-de-paco-mexicali-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Interior de la capilla de Casa de Paco en Mexicali, con altar, crucifijo, imagen de san Francisco de As\u00eds y elementos religiosos.” title_text=”casa de paco mexicali” _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n During my tour, I arrived at the women\u2019s common room. Five of them were sitting around a table playing UNO. Leticia (a pseudonym)\u2014a woman in her thirties\u2014was enthusiastically cheering on her companions; her joy seemed to spread to everyone playing.<\/span><\/p>\n For a moment, I considered joining in, but I soon realized that the cards weren\u2019t necessarily following the standard rules of UNO. Each person had her own cards and played in her own way, while Leticia kept the game lively. It didn\u2019t seem to matter much who won or lost; what mattered was sharing that moment together.<\/span><\/p>\n The scene stood in stark contrast to what one might imagine of an institution for people with terminal illnesses. Here, too, there was laughter, games, and small, everyday occurrences that gave meaning to the day.<\/span><\/p>\n I glanced toward the kitchen and found two young friars preparing lunch, one of them was even wearing a chef\u2019s uniform. It was midday, and the heat was beginning to set in. Fr Enrique introduced them to me: Fr Alejandro and Fr Iv\u00e1n.<\/span><\/p>\n Banana leaves rested atop one of the pots. Assuming they were making tamales, I asked about them, but beneath those leaves lay some delicious barbecue chicken.<\/span><\/p>\n At Casa de Paco, the friars prepare meals for both the residents and the friary community. Cooking, setting the table, and sharing food are all part of daily life in this Franciscan home.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n One of the unique features of Casa de Paco is that the friars do not live in a friary separate from the residents who are ill. Their rooms are part of the very same structure where the patients reside.<\/span><\/p>\n What is typically known as a cloister is, in this case, a hallway lined with five rooms. On one of the walls, there is a television, and opposite it, some armchairs that form a communal living area. A few steps further on, a table with eight chairs serves as a dining area. The hallway ends in a small space for washing dishes, equipped with a refrigerator, though there is no private kitchen, as the kitchen is shared with the rest of the household.<\/span><\/p>\n It is a small, simple, and welcoming space. During months of intense heat, air conditioning makes daily life more bearable. The patients’ rooms and the chapel are also equipped with air conditioning.<\/span><\/p>\n The layout of Casa de Paco fosters communal living. The building is arranged in a quadrangular plan: three sides are occupied by the residents’ rooms, while the fourth is reserved for the friars. The central area houses the kitchen, the dining room, and other facilities. A stone fountain is also part of the complex. Outside, there is a laundry area and a spacious parking lot.<\/span><\/p>\n In a passage from *The Sacred Exchange of St. Francis*, Lady Poverty asks to be shown the cloister. She is taken to a hilltop overlooking a vast expanse of land, and the friars say to her, “This is our cloister, Lady” (SC 63).<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/casa-de-paco-3-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Fachada de Casa de Paco en Mexicali, con el nombre de La Familia de Paco A. C. y una representaci\u00f3n de san Francisco de As\u00eds con un leproso.” title_text=”casa de paco 3″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n At Casa de Paco, this image from the Franciscan tradition takes on a concrete meaning. The friars’ cloister is also the cloister of those who are ill. The sense of fraternity extends throughout the hallways, the kitchen, the dining room, and all the spaces where the lives of those who have found a home here unfold.<\/span><\/p>\n Currently, three friars live at Casa de Paco: Fr. Jos\u00e9 Antonio Huertas, Fr. Iv\u00e1n Enr\u00edquez, who is completing his year of service, and Fr. Enrique Armenta. On Saturdays, friars in the post-novitiate phase arrive to carry out their apostolate, while novices participate in a one-month experience.<\/span><\/p>\n In this way, the institution also serves as a space for Franciscan formation, where younger friars have the opportunity to encounter human fragility and discover the value of service.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The pavilions were decorated with motifs signalling the approach of the Day of the Dead, a celebration deeply rooted in Mexican culture. These decorations took on a special significance in a house established to accompany people through the final stage of their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, during my stay, I discovered that this is not merely a place where people wait for death. I also found a home where people play, cook, share meals, and build bonds of fraternity.<\/span><\/p>\n This experience brings to mind the encounter between St. Francis of Assisi and those suffering from leprosy. That encounter was not merely about offering material aid to the sick; rather, it was about drawing near to those who, until then, had elicited a sense of repulsion in him. This encounter transformed the way he viewed others and understood his own existence.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Eight centuries later, that same gesture continues to find concrete expression in places like *Casa de Paco*, where human fragility becomes an invitation to remain close.<\/span><\/p>\n In a society that often values individuals based on their productivity, autonomy, or capacity for recovery, this endeavour does not serve as a reminder that human dignity does not diminish with illness, nor does it vanish when medicine can no longer offer a cure.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps this is why one of the phrases that best captures what I encountered at *Casa de Paco*\u2014a sentiment I heard from Fr Enrique, is this: <\/span>it is not so much about curing as it is about caring.<\/i><\/b> For even as life nears its end, there remain many ways to love.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Br. Daniel Rodr\u00edguez Blanco, OFM<\/strong> [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ofmjpic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Casa_Paco_1.jpg” alt=”Fraile franciscano junto a una representaci\u00f3n de san Francisco de As\u00eds abrazando a un leproso en Casa de Paco, Mexicali.” title_text=”Casa_Paco_1″ _builder_version=”4.27.9″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico In Mexicali, Baja California, there is a home where the Franciscan mission is expressed through care, hospitality, and fraternity. This is Casa de Paco, an institution that, for over thirty years, has provided free support to individuals with terminal illnesses who lack financial resources and have been left without a support […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[962],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Shared Dream: The Origins of Casa de Paco<\/h2>\n
The arrival of the Franciscan friars<\/h3>\n
Not so much curing as caring: the mission of Casa de Paco<\/h2>\n
A home where games are also played<\/h2>\n
A different kind of cloister: a shared community<\/h2>\n
Where life is cared for until the very end<\/h2>\n
OFM JPIC<\/span><\/p>\n