Our new worldwide Society Coordinator, Sister Carmelita Perez, was born in San Jose, San Simon, Pampanga, Philippines. The eldest of 9 children, she grew up in a devout Catholic family. She has a B.S. degree in Education with a major in Math, and a M.A. Degree in Religious Studies, with a major in Women and Religion. She joined Medical Mission Sisters in 1973, at age 29, and has held many leadership positions.

Sister Carmelita spent her first 9 years of mission in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, where she was an Administrator at Holy Family Hospital, as well as a community health worker. She was also active in Medical Mission Sisters' administration as a Formation Assistant, Sector Assembly representative, coordinator of our local community, and a member of the Vocation Promotion team. In Bongao, she worked with Muslims for the first time ... paving the way for future ecumenical work.

In 1986, Sister Carmelita moved to Quezon City, where she did pastoral work and served as the District Treasurer. She was elected to a term as Sector Coordinator for East Asia, which ended in 1993. She also served as co-coordinator of the Women and Gender Commission, a Mission Partner of the Association of Major Superiors of Women and Men in the Philippines.

From 1993 through 2003, Sister Carmelita was a faculty member and chair of the M.A. Program in Women and Religion at the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies, an ecumenical theological school that draws students from many countries in Asia and the Pacific. A member of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, she was also active in our Community's Spirituality Team, and on our General Finance Team. In 1999, she was elected District Coordinator for the Philippines.

Sister Carmelita recently moved to London, to begin her 6-year term in service to Medical Mission Sisters worldwide. "I dream that we can witness to the fact that there are different ways of worshiping and living together as people of God," she shares. "We have to show people what it means to move across boundaries. I believe this is our call to pioneer in new ways today."