Enriqueta Favez

Life & Legacy

Enriqueta Favez (c. 1791 – 1856) also known as Enrique Favez, Henriette Favez and Henrietta Faber, was a Swiss medical doctor and surgeon who practiced medicine in the Napoleonic Wars and in Cuba. Although born female, Favez lived as a male surgeon for approximately four years in Cuba—a fact that culminated in a well-documented trial and expulsion from the Spanish territories. Following his expulsion, he lived the remainder of her life as Sor Magdalena, a nurse for Daughters of Charity Services in New Orleans, eventually rising to the position of Mother Superior for that congregation.