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Necita A. Fetalvero

Immigrant Spouses Journeying Towards Employment

By Necita A. Fetalvero

Necita or Cita, originally from Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, has a degree in Psychology. She joined the Columban Lay Mission orientation program in 2001. During her first and second mission terms in Korea she worked with the urban poor, based in a mission parish in Seoul. She facilitated liturgies and visited the elderly. She taught English to poor children and was also involved in Catholic scouting, which assists youth programs in the parish and in schools. After her sixth year as a Columban lay missionary she began to minister to multi-cultural families in Ganghwa Island. She writes about that here.


Cita is now home for good after nine years of mission work in Korea. She left the Columban Lay Missionaries to look after her aging and ailing parents. Her father was paralyzed by a stroke 20 years ago and his condition deteriorated last year. Her mother is suffering from diabetes and is scheduled for an eye operation soon.

Necita A. Fetalvero
Cita (far right) and Fr Laurence Kettle OFMCap with some Filipino women married to Koreans.

Witnessing To The Flame Within

Four Columban lay missionaries now in their third year in Korea share their reflections as they began their mission there.

Cristina B. Simpron

They say ‘You don’t have to be rich in order to give. All you have to do is to be good; the person who is good can always find something to give.’ When I remember these words, which became the inspiration of my vocation, I also remember other lay people working in the church. I have seen their dedication, the simplicity of their lives and I admire them very much. They are catechists and parish workers whom I have been privileged to help. I can say I have a passion for working with young people.  They have given me the capacity to learn many things about life and love. I believe in the capacity of young people to be agents of love, peace and transformation in society and the Church.