HONG KONG (SE): Sister Felicitas Nisperos passed away on February 5 at Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, after serving the Church for 69 years and nearly six decades of service for migrants and distressed girls and women in Hong Kong. She was 93-years-old.
Born in Manila on 7 August 1932, she had a career as a teacher before joining the Good Shepherd congregation at the age of 23. She entered the novitiate in Los Angeles on 8 September 1955 and made her first profession there two years later. She then returned to the Philippines and made her final profession in 1961.
Sister Nisperos was assigned to Hong Kong in 1966 and then spent decades caring for girls at Marycove Centre, assisting them with emotional and family challenges. Known for her sense of humour and fluency in Cantonese, she earned the affectionate nickname “Mother Happy” from the girls.
She then worked for five years in Ethiopia and led the poverty alleviation programme. She later returned to Hong Kong and served at the Choi Wan Hostel of her congregation.
She began serving the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos in 1986, and became its director in July 2008. She emphasised that, while named for Filipinos, the centre welcomed migrants of all nationalities and provided assistance in need. She retired in December 2017.
Sister Felicitas Nisperos was a long-term adviser for Simbayanan-KAMMPI, a Filipino migrant workers’ association, and is remembered by members as both strict and loving, and celebrations were often held in her honour. In 2018, on her 86th birthday, she was recognised by the then Philippine consul general, Antonio Morales, for her contributions to the Filipino community in Hong Kong.
In her later years at Marycove Community in Wong Chuk Hang, she focused on ministry and prayer for individuals with special needs, migrants, and the broader community.
The funeral Mass for Sister Felicitas was scheduled on February 14 at 10:00am at the chapel of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, followed by burial at St. Raphael’s Cemetery in Kowloon.
