MANILA, Philippines — Sister Eva Fidela Maamo, a Catholic nun and surgeon known across the Philippines as the “Healing Nun” for her decades of free medical care to the poor, has died at age 85.
She died on April 14, according to Our Lady of Peace Hospital, which announced her passing the following day.
In the 1970s, Sister Eva performed surgery on an Indigenous woman using a bamboo table and coconut water to keep the patient alive in Lake Sebu, southern Philippines. The urgent action was necessary because reaching the nearest hospital required hours on foot and crossing multiple rivers.
Her life of service and sacrifice made a deep impact on people, particularly the poor who most availed themselves of the nunʼs medical and pastoral care.
“I remember her vividly during my years as an intern and resident at Manila Doctors Hospital, attending to her patients,” said Dr. Anthony Leachon, a physician.
“Her quiet strength, her devotion to the sick and the poor, and her example of servant leadership shaped not only the lives of those she treated but also the young physicians who learned under her guidance,” he added.
Sister Eva was born on Sept. 17, 1940, in Liloan, Southern Leyte. She studied at the Velez College of Medicine in Cebu, central Philippines, and practiced at her familyʼs clinic in Liloan for a while.
Later, she entered the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres to be a nun and missionary in 1974, serving as a physician in Lake Sebu and later in other parts of the country.
Health as a right
One of her steadfast beliefs was that health is a right for all, not a privilege for a few.
Being a surgeon, she did not limit herself to an operating room. She visited public hospitals, communities, and places with very limited access to health care.
Sister Evaʼs role went beyond that of a physician who is meant to treat illnesses; she made sure to work for peopleʼs dignity — interacting with patients where they lived, seeing their existential realities.
“In this way, she showed the human face of healing and care while witnessing Godʼs mercy,” Maria Martineze, a volunteer, told EWTN News.
The nunʼs quiet and consistent commitment tried to abridge the existing gap — need and access to health but also working for inclusion and peopleʼs right to access health, Martineze explained.
‘Barefoot doctors’
She trained “barefoot doctors” — men and women skilled to treat common illnesses and provide basic care in remote and rural areas where accessing health care has always remained a challenge.
According to Sister Eva, the “barefoot doctors” are not physicians, but they are skilled at treating common diseases.
Sister Eva trained 17 barefoot doctors in Lake Sebu in 1974. Over the years, she expanded the initiative across the country, training 274 barefoot doctors from 110 Indigenous communities.
Care for Indigenous peoples
Sister Eva had a distinctive character — going to the peripheries — as a missionary and a doctor. In her heart, she had special love for Indigenous peoples and geographically and socially isolated communities in the country, including the Tʼboli, Aeta, and Manobo.
She trained them in basic medical skills like CPR, physical exams, and minor surgery, empowering them to become health providers for their tribes.
One of the Indigenous peoples, the Aeta, displaced by the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991, was cared for by the nun.
The nun worked with them for years, capacitating the leaders and community, strengthening their dignity, resilience, and physical well-being.
With her efforts, as many as 146 families with 500 persons were able to resettle. Some eventually converted to Catholicism.
“She spent her life in healing and service with compassion and love for Indigenous people,” Lourdes Balinta, an Aeta teacher, told EWTN News.
Hospital for affordable health care
The Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Mission was established in 1984 by Sister Eva and American Jesuit Father James Reuter to address the needs of the poor.
Additionally, in 1992, Our Lady of Peace Hospital, Parañaque, Metro Manila, was built to provide the poor with affordable access to quality health care, including feeding and livelihood programs for the poor in Metro Manila and other areas.
“Through her foundation and hospital, she brought healing, dignity, and hope to countless marginalized communities across the Philippines, offering free medical care, shelter, and livelihood opportunities,” a message from Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.
“Small in stature but immense in spirit, Sister Evaʼs life stands as a powerful witness to Gospel compassion lived out in action,” it added.
Sister Evaʼs life was marked by extraordinary compassion and service to the poor, embodying the Christian spirit of selfless love and dedication, Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas of Maasin said.
Her tireless work as a healer and advocate for the marginalized was a profound witness to her faith in Christ and love for humanity, he added. The remarkable legacy she leaves behind — her ministry and compassion — touched countless lives.
“May her example keep motivating us to live lives of service and faithfulness to Godʼs mission,” the prelate said.
Accolades
In 1997, Sister Eva received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often considered Asiaʼs Nobel Prize, for her dedicated service to the poor communities through medicine.
In 1992, she received the Mother Teresa Award of the Philippines. In 2006, the nun was recognized as a Lasallian Star of Faith awardee, recognizing her decades of dedicated service as a nun and surgeon whose life epitomized faith in service.
True spirit of service
Though Sister Eva has passed, her legacy remains in the hearts of people.
“She was a hardworking, humble, and caring woman of God — a physician-leader whose hands healed and whose heart uplifted countless lives,” Leachon said. “Multi-awarded yet always grounded, she embodied the true spirit of service.”
“Her life reminds us that medicine is not only science but also love in action,” he added. “May her memory continue to inspire generations of healers and advocates. Her light endures in the lives she touched.”