Sister Rose Guercio, M.M. celebrated her 70th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Astoria, NY and joined Maryknoll Sisters in 1947. She earned her R.N. from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Rochester, Minnesota. Sister Rose was assigned to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1955, and supervised medical wards in a government hospitals until government regulations caused the Sisters departure.
Sister Rose was assigned to Korea in 1959 and her ministry was at the Maryknoll Hospital at Pusan. She was clinic supervisor and assistant administrator. Sister Rose then studied at Yonsei University in Seoul and from 1969-71, she worked at the Maryknoll Fathers Okchon Clinic in Chung Puk Do supervising and administering the clinic and initiating maternal/child health care programs. As an “exemplary health worker,” Sister Rose was awarded a Civil Merit Medal.
For Sister Rose, “As a nurse the caring aspect of my work rather than the curing aspect became much more important.”
From 1972 until 1979, Sister Rose went to Jeung Pyeong where her main concern was to develop preventive health services. Sister Rose was Director-Founder of a pioneering Medical Insurance Cooperative, enrolling families with an affordable fee. The governor of Jeung Pyeong made her an honorary citizen of the province. “Not only has she given an example to all in the local community of her love and concern for our people but in the medical profession, Sister Rose has given freely of her time and energy.”
From 1979 – 1984, Sister Rose served as Assistant Treasurer at Maryknoll, N.Y. She returned to Korea in 1984 and became involved with work for the Korean Bishops’ Conference at the National Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. In 1994, Sister Rose worked at the Maryknoll Sisters Center and returned to korea in 1999 where she served as the International Coordinator of the Citizen’s Coalition for Economic Justice. Sister Rose retired in 2006 and is now residing at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.