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Indian Religious sister and former Superior (1934?2015)
Maria Nirmala Joshi
(23 July 1934 ? 23 June 2015) was an Indian
religious sister
who succeeded Nobel laureate
Mother Teresa
as the head of the
Missionaries of Charity
and expanded the movement overseas.
[1]
[2]
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 and Thailand.
Biography
[
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]
Joshi, nee Kusum, was born on 23 July 1934
[3]
in a Brahmin family as the eldest of the ten children at in
Ranchi
,
Bihar and Orissa Province
in the
British Indian Empire
(now the capital of the Indian State of
Jharkhand
).
[4]
[5]
[6]
Her parents were from
Nepal
and her father was an officer of the
British Indian Army
until the nation's independence in 1947.
[6]
Although the family was Hindu, she was educated by Christian missionaries in Mount Carmel,
Hazaribagh
, India. At that time, she learned of Mother Teresa's work and wanted to share in that service. She soon converted to
Catholicism
and joined the
Missionaries of Charity
, founded by Mother Teresa.
[7]
Joshi completed a
master's degree
in
political science
and then went on to secure a doctorate degree in law from the
University of Calcutta
.
[4]
[8]
She was one of the first Sisters of the institute to head a foreign mission when she went to Panama. In 1976, Joshi started the
contemplative
branch of the Missionaries of Charity and remained at its head until 1997, when she was elected to succeed Mother Teresa as Superior General of the institute.
[8]
The government of India bestowed the
Padma Vibhushan
, the second highest civilian award, on Sister Joshi on
Republic Day
(26 January) 2009 for her services to the nation.
[9]
[10]
Her term as Superior General ended on 25 March 2009, and she was succeeded by German born Sister
Mary Prema Pierick
.
[6]
Death
[
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]
Joshi died on 25 June 2015 in
Kolkata
from a
heart ailment
.
[11]
Many leaders of India expressed their condolences in media, including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
and West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee
.
[12]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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