Sr. Carmelita Perez, MMS

Sr. Carmelita, or Ms. Perez as we knew her when she taught at JASHS from 1965-1971, is now a nun, a Medical Mission Sister (MMS). As with all of us, God leads the way, and we just follow our calling.

She went to mass one time at Sta. Cruz Church in Manila, and was impressed with the homily of the Filipino priest, tried to meet and consult with him afterwards, but it was an Indian priest who listened to her, and helped open up several choices of congregations for her to consider joining. She felt a spark hit her, when the priest mentioned the Society of Medical Missionaries (aka Medial Mission Sisters).

MMS was the first group of Catholic Sisters to be engaged in the full range of professional medical work, where the Founder, Anna Dengel, saw the need to fill an unfilled need which only women could fill, doing something that only women could do, for suffering women. We can only surmise that Sr. Perez was already one liberated woman’s rights activist while she was still our teacher, wearing above-knee-length skirts, donning a Girl Scouts uniform, and even becoming part of a dance troupe performing during Aldo Ning Kapampangan. And so Sr. Carmelita evolved, from being Catholic-educated, to being a public high school teacher, teaching Math, Algebra, and later Modern Math, not stopping at learning new things, pursuing several more educational degrees, holding top positions at MMC, travelling the world as a leader of MMS’s various causes, being part of a delegation to a Conference on Women organized by the United Nations, and even becoming one of the authors of a Workbook on Geometry for use of public schools, including UP.

Not all rosy, though, as she started her chosen vocation assigned as a young nun in Mindanao’s Tawi-Tawi, stationed there for 9 ½ yrs., became very sick with malaria, had to make do in a place without running water, ran down to a safer place when shooting is heard. But the need to help the local people, mostly Muslims, continued with the Holy Family Hospital (HFH), which is owned by the Vicariate of Jolo and managed by the MMS. Sr. Carmelita became HFH Administrator, and she was in charge of finance, admin. work, repair and maintenance, kitchen, and even doing laundry.

HFH focus in mission evolved from being Hospital-based, to Community-based. MMS now also actively advocates for the health of the earth, and for the just sharing of the limited resources of our planet. No wonder Sr. Carmelita even joined picket lines of abused workers, even sleeping on the street in front of the factory, doing apostolate work for the Kasambahay program for tricycle drivers, etc. She visited political prisoners at Camp Crame, and initiated her family distribution of food supplies during COVID in their barrio. She even taught Geometry at Maryknoll (now Miriam) College, as part of her apostolate.

Her teaching career started in 1965 as a 19-year old HS teacher at Bayambang National HS in Pangasinan, then at JASHS from 1966-1971. At JASHS, she had to prepare very well so as not to be challenged by her smart and intelligent students. She became the first teacher of the newly-introduced Hydrogen and Oxygen classes. She considers JASHS as the best high school, where the crème de la crème, from elementary schools all over Pampanga chose to take their secondary education.

But God had different plans for her. On Mar. 25, 1972, the Feast of the Annunciation, she joined the MMS as novice. She took her first vows on Dec. 8, 1974, and her final vows on March 25, 1980. She never stopped learning/studying, earning her B.A. in Religious Studies as a novice at Sisters’ Formation Institute in 1974, M.A. in Religious Studies in 1977, heading later the Women and Religion Department. The highest positions she has reached in MMS were being Provincial in the the Philippines, Regional Superior for East Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan) and Superior General, based in London, where she oversaw MMS operations in 6 continents, travelling there, as well. It is a lifetime of learning and serving, and the story continues, as nuns like Sr. Carmelita, MMS, do not retire.