Ossining, N.Y., Oct. 16, 2026 ── Sister Marisa Lichauco, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister of 67 years with a deep passion for teaching ecology, died on Sept. 25, 2026. She was 97.
Sr. Marisa was born Luisa Lichauco to Thomas and Emma Roensch on Aug. 23, 1929, in Manila, Philippines. She is predeceased by three sisters — Elena, Cecilia and Mercedes — and survived by many devoted nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Sr. Marisa graduated from Manila’s Maryknoll College High School in 1947. She then studied history at Marywood College in Scranton, Pa., earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1951. Sr. Marisa also received a master’s degree in history in 1958, from the Ateneo de Manila University.
On Sept. 2, 1959, Sr. Marisa entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Maryknoll, N.Y. She made her First Vows on June 24, 1962, and began teaching literature at the Maryknoll Teachers College later that year. She then was assigned to Guatemala, where she taught grade and high school students of Monte Maria in Guatemala City from 1963 until 1968. Sr. Marisa made Final Vows on June 24, 1968, while assigned to Maryknoll College in the Philippines.
Sr. Marisa continued to serve in Manila, teaching for one year at Maryknoll College and working as principal of the College Grade School from 1969 until 1976. She then spent two years working with the College’s Faculty Development Program in Davao, Mindanao, which offered educational opportunities to the teaching staff of eight rural schools. In 1979, she supervised construction of the Sisters’ Regional House in Quezon City.
In 1980, Sr. Marisa’s ministry pivoted as she became the administrator of the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (Home with No Stairs) also known as “House with No Steps,” a center for children with disabilities in Cainta, Rizal. She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 1983, serving in the Mission Institute before her return to “The House with No Steps,” in 1983, to work as director of education.
Sr. Marisa also had a passion for social justice, and was a strong advocate for free and honest elections in the Philippines. In 1986, she was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections. Over time, she also became aware of devastating deforestation impacting the Philippines, giving ecology lectures in schools and to civics groups to inspire others to take action. Sr. Marisa also worked with an ecology-focused group at Miriam College, known as P.E.A.C.E. Together, they developed the two-and-a-half acre Mini-Forest Park, located at the center of the Miriam College campus. She was awarded the Filipino 10th Chino Roces Award in 1998 and the “Amazing Alumni Achievers Award,” from Miriam College in 2002, for pioneering this initiative.
After the passing of her mother and her sister, Mercedes, Sr. Marisa opened their family home for retreats, days of prayer and workshop for the benefit of her parish, Sanctuario de San Antonio in Makati City. She continued to volunteer with her parish over the years, including work in its Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation ministry and the Parish Scholarship Committee.
In 2018, Sr. Marisa returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she shared her enthusiasm for issues of today’s world with her Sister community until her passing.
The Maryknoll Sisters would like to thank Sr. Marisa for her commitment to ecology, and the many seeds she planted to inspire a better environmental future for our One Earth Community.
A wake and Mass of Christian Burial were held for Sr. Marisa on Oct. 6, 2026, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y.