FSP PJ Pioneer Called to Eternal Life

PASAY CITY, Philippines – Sr Maria Chiara Cabaluna, 86, went home to the Eternal Father on 3 Dec 2022 here. Born in Cebu Philippines in 1936, she entered the Daughters of St Paul in 1955. She took her first vows in 1960 and made her final profession in 1965. In 1966, she was sent to the house in Brickfields Kuala Lumpur that was opened on 19 March 1965. She and her companions studied the Malay language and worked hard to disseminate the Gospel in that multiracial, multicultural, and multireligious region. They worked hard to acquire the present house and lot at 161 Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya and the community transferred there permanently on 19 Dec 1968.

In the eight years that she was there, she was the driver and diffuser, visiting schools, factories and offices not only in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur but also in Penang, Melaka, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, and in Singapore as well. She returned to the Philippines for good in 1974 where she continued her itinerant apostolate. In her last years, she suffered much from hypertension and diabetes, resulting in failing eyesight. She loved music very much, and despite poor eyesight, she continued to play the organ during liturgical celebrations. On Saturday morning, she had a fatal heart attack, a consequence of the coronary problems that afflicted her. May she rest in peace. Amen.