Medical Mission Sisters in the Philippines
2. Sr. Angelina Alfafara
3. Sr. Evelyn Anuncio
4. Sr. Erlinda Banzon
5. Sr. Mary Anne Bellosillo
6. Sr. Eufrecina Briones
7. Sr. Teresita Camomot
8. Sr. Carmella Canlas
9. Sr. Mary Jane Caspillo
10. Sr. Fides Copiaco
11. Sr. Natividad Cristobal
12. Sr. Loreto de Guzman
13. Sr. Victorina dela Paz
14. Sr. Alicia Demonteverde
15. Sr. Yolanda Durian
16. Sr. Lina Faeldonea
17. Sr. Manuela Gonzales
18. Sr. Lynn Kaum
19. Sr. Lourdes Kangleon
20. Sr. Leda Liboon
21. Sr. Fe Mandreza
22. Sr. Rosalinda Maog
23. Sr. Betty Mathay
24. Sr. Leonora Minoza
25. Sr. Maria Gracia Navata
26. Sr. Rebecca Pacete
27. Sr. Rowena Pineda
28. Sr. Theramma Prayikalam
29. Sr. Elvira Valenzuela
30. Sr. Dulce Corazon Velasco
31. Sr. Ester Vite
32. Sr. Elsa Zerrudo
Candidate: Janette Alejandro
Born on November 27, 1938, Sister Fidelis Abad Santos come from a long line of prominent public servants and patriots in Manila. She and her twin are second from the eldest of four girls and one boy.
Like her family, she admits to having a deep desire for
service to the people, especially the poor. “To participate in
the building of a better world for the love and glory of
God.”
Her life in the mission has evolved from being hospital chief pharmacist in India to being community worker among fishermen in Manila, to a pastoral worker in Brazil, and then to an international solitary worker for an organization in the Philippines. She has also served in different leadership positions for the Congregation.
But she considers her 19 years in Latin America as her most colorful chapter of her life. According to Sister Fidelis, her active enthusiasm has come into bloom at that time since she felt that she wanted not only to be with the poor but also strove to live like them as much as she could. She says that the Church of the poor in Brazil influenced her greatly.
Presently, she aspires to become a contemplative in the marketplace. By living with a community of the blind in Bagong Nayon, Antipolo, she has claimed to have made a turn in her journey toward personal and communal wholeness. She likes to present herself to the community in a relationship of mutual help and enrichment, inviting others to engage in a very meaningful process of integration to help them experience the goodness and love of God.
“My own personal process opened my heart's ears to listen to the longing deep within to continue to be at the service of the struggling poor at this stage in my life. I have reached the stage in life when my being craves for a deeper communion with God and at the same time become this quiet presence among God's people. Hopefully, whatever I do would come from my heart rooted in God, free from obsessions and compulsions and rich in trust and confidence.”
Indeed, women religious will be a leaven in the dough, simple and unnoticeable. But they are used by the Spirit in stirring and bringing to life the seed of the Church of the poor, God's Kingdom.