A MASS was held at Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross, Dublin, last night for Celia Ferrer de Jesus, a nurse from the Philippines who was found dead on Tuesday after her home was flooded.
Ms Ferrer de Jesus (58) had worked at the hospice since 2001, where she was a member of the household team in the rheumatology rehabilitation unit of the hospice.
Last night’s Mass was organised by Nancy Reyes, a member of the Filipino community who had known Ms Ferrer de Jesus since 2003. Ms Reyes, a care assistant at the Daughters of Charity nursing home in Blackrock, said Ms Ferrer de Jesus had joined her and 30 other members of the Filipino community in Ireland on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this time last year.
“She was a good friend of ours and every time we had a pilgrimage together we had more time to talk with each other. She was a nice lady and very accommodating.”
Ms Ferrer de Jesus moved to the Republic and began working at the hospice following a recruitment drive in the Philippines more than a decade ago. She is survived by her husband Angelito and son Michael Kevin (19), who remained in the Philippines.
Ms Reyes said she did not yet know when her body would be released for repatriation back to the Philippines but she expected that it would take another four to five days. She said she thought family members of Ms Ferrer de Jesus would come to Ireland but she was not sure who would.
“Without her body, we’ve just planned to have a Mass for her in preparation for the removal.”
Ms Reyes said those at the Mass would also be collecting donations for Ms Ferrer de Jesus’s family.
Fr Pat O’Connell, chaplain to the Filipino community in Ireland, was the spiritual director of the pilgrimage joined by Ms Ferrer de Jesus last year. Before saying last night’s Mass, Fr O’Connell said: “It’s nice to remember where we had been a year ago in this whole horrible tragedy now. It’s a mighty shock.
“It is terribly important for the Filipino community to be with their families at the time of death and for her husband and her son not to be able to be with her at this time is really terrible.”
Hospice chief executive Mo Flynn described Ms Ferrer de Jesus as “a highly valued member of staff who provided excellent service wherever she was required”.
Irish and Filipino authorities are liaising over plans to return Ms Ferrer de Jesus’s body to the Philippines for burial.
