Bishop Armando Ochoa Brings a Strong Spiritual Presence to Valley Children’s Hospital

Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California, is a wonderful healthcare facility filled with great doctors, nurses and volunteers who strive to serve the Central Valley by providing quality healthcare to children.  

Valley Children’s is filled with volunteers from all walks of life and one of them happens to be our very own Bishop Emeritus Armando Ochoa, former Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno. Bishop Ochoa volunteers at Valley Children’s at least twice a week, providing Spiritual Care for families.

“One of the reasons I went to Children’s Hospital was because we didn’t have a Catholic presence [in the spiritual care department],” Bishop Ochoa states. After retirement, Bishop was looking for a ministry he could step into and Valley Children’s was the lucky recipient of his dedicated ministry.  

Valley Children’s represents the demographics of the Central Valley in that a good portion of the hospital’s patients, families and visitors are Hispanic Catholics, with a large portion of them being farmworkers. The Catholic Community is strongly represented throughout the Valley Children’s staff. Many of the staff members know Bishop Ochoa and a few were even confirmed by him.

“Some of the special and rewarding moments are when they find out you’re a Catholic priest and you’re praying with them, connecting with them... connecting them to the Catholic faith in a non-threatening way,” Bishop Ochoa describes. Bishop Ochoa exemplifies evangelization through his ministry at Valley Children’s.

Due to the Catholic population at Valley Children’s, Bishop Ochoa was asked to provide a regularly scheduled Mass for families at the hospital. He celebrates Mass every Friday at 2pm for the families of Valley Children’s and it is livestreamed for the families who cannot attend in person due to health concerns.  

Although this ministry is rewarding, there are difficult times. There are many moments when Bishop is counseling and praying with families who are going through tough times or having to make hard decisions. Bishop Ochoa recalls one of those difficult times when he participated in a Guard of Honor, which is when hospital workers and volunteers silently line the pathway from the intensive care unit to the operating room as the organ donor is wheeled to the operation room for organ recovery. This process can be emotionally difficult when the donor is on life support and is donating an organ as a final contribution during their earthly life.

Bishop Ochoa says his enjoyment for parish/ministry work outweighs the mourning of the difficult times. “You can’t take the parish priest out of this bishop, you know,” Bishop Ochoa playfully remarks.

He further explains that he has always enjoyed bringing communion to the sick. As a deacon during his summer diaconate before being ordained, that was his focus. “In the last 30 years of being a Bishop, you don’t always have the chance to [be a homebound or hospital bound Eucharistic Minister], so it’s really touching and nice now [to be in this ministry].” Bishop Ochoa explains.

Bishop Ochoa’s volunteer work under Spiritual Care involves sacraments, confessions, liturgy, confessions – including emergency baptisms and anointings. For more information on Spiritual Care at Valley Children’s Hospital, please visit valleychildrens.org/patients-and-families/support-services/spiritual.