Sister Mary Peter
My name is Sister Mary Peter Hiroko Kizawa. I was born in Tokyo on September 24, 1940. My family has been Catholic since my grandparents’ generation. My mother is a convert from Protestantism. I have six siblings. The eldest is my older brother, followed by four girls, and the youngest is my younger brother. I am the eldest daughter, born after my older brother. The church we attended was the Kita-Urawa Catholic Church, which was served by Franciscan priests.
My grandfather and my father were both physicians. Through the parish priests, my father was invited by Dr. Akizuki at St. Francis Hospital in Nagasaki, where he performed surgeries for those who had been injured by the atomic bombing, as well as for patients suffering from tuberculosis and other lung disease. Even though many people were dying at that time, none of my father’s patients passed away thanks to his surgical methods. Among the patients he treated in Nagasaki were also priests. In Tokyo as well, among those who underwent lung surgery by my father were priests from the diocese. My father also had a connection with St. Francis Hospital.
After graduating from high school and working for three years, I was introduced by my father to St. Mary’s Hospital in Himeji, and that is how I came to Himeji. In prayer, I sought to discern whether God was calling me to married life or to the consecrated life, and I came to sense that His grace was gently leading me toward the religious vocation. Beginning in April, I worked at Maria Hospital as part of my preparation for religious life, and in September I was received into the community. In 1967, I professed my first vows.
Following my first profession, I lived in the Oblate residence in Shikoku while studying at a school for physical therapy. After receiving my national qualification, I served as a physical therapist at Himeji St. Maria Hospital. From in 1983, I was assigned as the director of Nagasaki St. Francis Hospital. Later, in 1992, I was appointed director of Himeji St. Maria Hospital, a position I held for five years. In the third year as hospital director, on the morning of January 17, 1995, as we were about to begin our morning prayer, we suddenly felt a powerful shaking. In Kobe, just an hour by car from Himeji, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake caused catastrophic destruction, leveling buildings and triggering massive fires throughout the city. Fortunately, St. Mary’s Hospital sustained no major damage. We therefore dispatched doctors, nurses, and other staff, and as a whole institution we devoted ourselves to the disaster area, striving to stand close to and save as many lives as possible. More than 6,000 people died in the earthquake.
There were not many Catholic believers among the patients at St. Mary’s Hospital, and only a small number believed in eternal life rather than seeing death as the end. So I began studying pastoral care and started visiting patients. Through my conversations with patients at their bedside, including those facing death, I witnessed people finding new meaning, and it made me realize how meaningful this work truly is. As I continued to deepen my work in pastoral care, I opened a palliative care ward (hospice) in 1996. This year marks its 30th anniversary. I sought to help patients recognize that Jesus values each person and that their own lives are profoundly precious. Trusting in God and praying to follow the path Jesus shows, I carried out my bedside visits. I began recording my patient visits and conversations so they could inform my future work. I then went on to work at a training center that helps develop and enhance clinical pastoral care.
In 2022, I moved from the Tokyo convent to the Himeji convent. In the community, I assist sisters with physical disabilities by helping them with their wheelchairs and walking alongside those who have difficulty walking, sometimes supporting them as we move together. I also devote myself to the apostolate of prayer, especially responding to those in particular need of prayer.
