Goodbye, Sister Nirmala

Arindam Sarkar

She was always unassuming and low profile in the Order of the Missionaries of Charity headquartered in Kolkata. Ever smiling and compassionate, she was a friend of the poor and the neglected. Her qualities did not go unrecognized.

In 1997, six months before her death, Blessed Mother Teresa gave the world her long-time, introvert companion Sister Nirmala as the superior general of her Catholic order. Sister Nirmala (81) died on the morning of June 23, 2015.

Media-shy Sister Nirmala, after serving as superior general for 12 years, resigned in 2009 and passed the baton to the German nun Sister Mary Prema.

Sister Nirmala’s body was kept at St John’s Church at Sealdah on June 23. On the morning of June 24, her body was brought to the Mother House and kept on the ground floor for public viewing. Later, it was taken to the chapel on the first floor for the funeral mass.

In the evening, the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, followers and other people of the city walked with the hearse and bid a tearful farewell to Sister Nirmala. She was buried at the St John’s Church Cemetery in Sealdah at 7 pm.

“She died peacefully. She was a great soul,” said Archbishop of Kolkata Father Thomas D’Souza. He said Sister Nirmala was suffering from heart disease and was admitted to the hospital before being brought to the Mother House, where she finally succumbed.

Talking about Sister Nirmala, a long-time associate of Mother Teresa and Missionaries of Charity Sunita Kumar said that she was a quiet, gentle and a tireless nun. It was under her stewardship, after Mother Teresa’s death, that the Missionaries of Charity expanded its homes in different parts of the world.

And during the tenure of Sister Nirmala, as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Vatican beatified Mother Teresa. “She carried forward the legacy of service to the poor and spread the message and activities of the Missionaries of Charity,” said a senior nun. “She kept alive the exemplary life and times of Mother Teresa.”

Soon after Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, Pope John Paul II put her Cause for beatification and canonsiation on a fast track. And under Sister Nirmala, Postulator for the Cause of Sainthood of Mother Teresa, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, who is the Superior General of the MC Fathers in Tijuana, Mexico, submitted his report on Mother’s life to Vatican.

On October 19, 2003, a seven-member delegation led by Sister Nirmala attended the beatification ceremony of Mother Teresa in Vatican and met Pope John Paul II. After returning to Kolkata, she led a mass of the Missionaries of Charity nuns in praise of Mother Teresa and prayed for her sainthood. “Sister Nirmala believed God would canonize Mother soon,” said a senior nun.

Sister Nirmala was born as Nirmala Joshi in Ranchi. She was inspired by life and work of Mother Teresa and joined the Missionaries of Charity in 1976. Mother made her complete her law studies and thereafter, Sister Nirmala dedicated her life to the service of the poor. She was one of the first nuns to be selected by Mother Teresa to work for the Order in foreign countries. Her first destination was Panama.

Sister Nirmala was bestowed with Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for her services to the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences over the demise of Sister Nirmala. "Sister Nirmala's life was devoted to service, caring for the poor and 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," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who paid her last respects to Sister Nirmala at the Mother House, posted on the tweeter: “Saddened at the passing away of Sister Nirmala who headed the Missionaries of Charity after Mother Teresa. Kolkata and the world will miss her.”