Sister Isolina Ferre (1914-2000)

Today marks the death of Sister Isolina Ferre, M.S.B.T., and the following is from biographybase.com:

Isolina Ferre was the sister of Puerto Rico Governor Luis A. Ferré. Born in Ponce to a wealthy family, she joined the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity in 1935. She studied sociology and art atvarious universities in the United States. She travelled back and forth between Puerto Rico and the eastern coast, and she loved working with the poor. After a stint as a member of New York City’s committee against poverty, to which she was named by then Mayor John Lindsay, she decided in 1969 to set her permanent residence in Ponce, specifically in the poor sector of La Playa. Ferré’s efforts in La Playa were frequently written about in books and newspapers. She was responsible for opening a small hospital and a school named Centro De Orientacion De La Playa (La Playa Orientation Center) in the area. It was her dream to see that the people of La Playa improved their social and economical status by studying and getting jobs, while living in a community with adequate services.She earned many honorary doctorates from different educational institutes, and her effort was recognized by President Bill Clinton, who awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House. Sor Isolina died at age 85 in Ponce, after more than half a century of public service.