MANILA, Sept. 9, 2012—Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS, who started the pro-life movement in the Philippines in the 1970s, died early Sunday morning of Herniation Syndrome secondary to cerebral bleed.
Verzosa will be cremated, after which her remains will be brought to the Good Shepherd Convent on 1043 Aurora Blvd, Quezon City (beside St. Bridget School and the Katipunan LRT 2 station). The wake will start tonight at 8 p.m. with a celebration of the holy Mass.
Interment will be on Wednesday, Sept. 12, after the 3 p.m. Mass.
The 67-year-old founder of Pro-Life Philippines suffered an aneurysm Thursday then slipped into a coma. She had been breathing with the aid of an artificial respirator the past several days till she was pronounced dead at past 4 a.m. Sunday.
Verzosa had become involved with the pro-life movement after hearing Rev. Fr. Paul Marx—the late founder of Human Life International (HLI), spoke about the issue.
The pro-life advocate came into the Philippines to give a seminar a year after the infamous 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortion on demand in the US, and called on Filipinos to hold on to their life-affirming values. Verzosa got to work and ended up starting the pro-life movement in the country and becoming one of the strongest and most vibrant advocates of life and family in the crusade.
Verzosa would have turned 68 on Sept. 24.
Lorna Melegrito, Pro-Life Philippines executive director, said that before the nun was taken to the hospital, a birthday blowout had been set for Sept. 29, 8 p.m., at Max’s Restaurant, Scout Tuason, Quezon City.
“We will push through with honoring her and her life devoted to preserving the culture of life,” she said of the dynamic Verzosa, a member of the Religious of the Good Shepherd. (CBCP for Life)
