TEARFUL TRIBUTE PAID TO SISTER NIRMALA JOSHI-MOTHER TERESA’S SUCCESSOR

TEARFUL TRIBUTE PAID TO SISTER NIRMALA JOSHI-MOTHER TERESA’S SUCCESSOR

                 Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to condole the death of Sister Nirmala Joshi, former head of the Missionaries of Charity.“Sister Nirmala’s life was devoted to service, caring for poor, underprivileged. Saddened by her demise. May her soul rest in peace. My deepest condolences to the Missionaries of Charity family on the passing away of Sister Nirmala,” the prime minister tweeted immediately after the news about Sister Nirmala broke.The 81-year-old nun died in Kolkata early morning Tuesday after ailing with heart problems for more than two years. Sister Nirmala was born in Ranchi on July 23, 1934 to a Brahmin soldier who came from Nepal. She had joined the Order at the age of 17. She succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity on March 3, 1997. She stepped down in 2009.

                    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter to pay her tributes and added that the world would miss Sister Nirmala.Fr George Pattery, Jesuit provincial of South Asia, described Sr. Nirmala as “a mystic at heart, prophet in spirit, acutely sensitive to the sufferings of the poor and intensely close to Indian ethos. We miss her disarming smile.”

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India does not issue condolence messages for heads of religious congregation as a policy. “We hold Sister Nirmala in high esteem but we want to stick to our policy,” Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan said when asked to respond to the death.However, individual bishops expressed sadness over the death. Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore said he was deeply sad at the passing away of Sister Nirmala.In Indore, large number of people from all religions Tuesday visited Jyoti Niwas, Missionaries of Charity’s house for orphans, destitute and dying to pay their homage to her.Indore diocese and Missionaries of Charity Sisters plan to organize a prayer meeting at the Red Church at 4.00 pm on Wednesday to coincide with the funeral service in Kolkata.Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who heads a center for human rights in Ahmedabad and a close associate of Sister Nirmala, condoled the death and hailed her as a “great soul” and “fitting successor to Mother.”Recalling Sister Nirmala’s visit to Ahmedabad soon after her election, the priest said she had charmed everyone she encountered: “the poor and the powerful, the literate and illiterate, people from all walks of life and of diverse religious beliefs.”At an inter-religious prayer meeting, she truly spoke from her heart “telling those present very categorically that true religion is in the ability to unite and to love one another.”

               Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday condoled the death of Sister Nirmala, who had roots in the neighbouring Himalayan country, saying the world has lost a "great humanist social worker" with her death.Sister Nirmala, who succeeded Mother Teresa as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, died here on Tuesday. She was 81."With the demise of Sister Nirmala, the world has lost a great humanist social worker. I express my heartfelt condolences," Koirala tweeted.The Nepalese Consulate in Kolkata extended condolences to the organization."At this hour of pain, we express our heartfelt condolence and pray to the almighty God to give the bereaved members of MoC and the Nepalese communities living in Nepal, India and other countries, the strength to bear this unbearable and irreversible loss," Consul-General Chandra Kumar Ghimire said in a message.

             Archbishop of Bangalore Most Rev Dr Bernard Moras has expressed his sadness at the demise of Sr Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Blessed Mother Teresa as the Superior General of the Congregation of Missionaries of Charity, in Kolkata on Monday.“I express my deep sorrow, heartfelt sympathy and sincere condolences to all the Sisters of Missionaries of Charity spread all over the world, and pray to God to give necessary strength and courage to all of them to accept this irreparable loss, and to carry forward Sr. Nirmala’s legacy of compassion, gentleness and service to the poorest of the poor and holiness of life,’’ the Archbishop said in a condolence message.Archbishop Moras is the President of Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Council and All Karnataka United Christians Forum for Human Rights.

Sr Nirmala was born in 1934 in Ranchi in Bihar to rich Brahmin parents. She was the eldest among the 10 children comprising 8 girls and 2 boys. Her maiden name was Kusum. She attended school run by the Sisters and was touched by their love for the poor and dedicated service. Sr Nirmala Joshi obtained her Master’s Degree in Political Science and studied Law. Having come in contact with Mother Teresa, she was fascinated by her simple way of life and love for the poor.Sr Nirmala accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour, and embraced Christianity in 1958 at the age of 23.In the year 1997, she was elected to succeed Mother Teresa as the Superior General of the Institute. Today, the Congregation of Missionaries of Charity has over 4000 Missionaries of Charity spread all over the world.On her election as the Superior General, Sr Nirmala repeated the very words of Mother Teresa and called herself ‘a little pencil’ in God’s hands and stressed that He uses all of us to write the history of Charity.

The Government of India bestowed on Sr Nirmala the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, on January 26, 2009 for her services to the nation.Her term as Superior General ended on March 25, 2009, and she was succeeded by German-born Sr Mary Prema Pierick.Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Nobel laureate Mother Teresa as the head of her Missionaries of Charity and expanded the movement overseas, died on Tuesday aged 80.After taking over the charity following Mother Teresa's death in 1997, Nirmala expanded the organisation's reach to 134 countries by opening centres in nations such as Afghanistan, Israel and Thailand.She stepped down in 2009 due to poor health."She had big shoes to fill, expectations were huge, but with simplicity, unstinting love and faith she proved herself," said Sunil Lucas, a communications director for the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The funeral was held on Wendnesday,24^th June at the St John's cemetery after the mass.

Prof. John Kurakar