Sister Nirmala
Sister Nirmala Joshi (left), former Superior General of Missionaries of Charity, dies at 81.Twitter/Mandy इन्सां

Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, died at the age of 81 in Kolkata. 

"She was sick for quite some time. She passed away at 12:05 am today (Tuesday) at the convent where she used to stay in Sealdah," IANS quoted a source at the Mother House as saying.

Sister Nirmala was the second Superior General of the Roman Catholic congregation. She took over the reins in March 1997, six months before Mother Teresa's death. In March 2009, Sister Nirmala relinquished the leadership of the congregation, making way for German-born Sister Mary Prema Pierick. 

Sister Nirmala was born in 1934 in Ranchi, which was then a part of Bihar and Orissa Province in British India.

Her family was Hindu and hailed from Nepal. She received education at Christian missionary schools in Patna. She did her Masters in political science and took a law degree. 

Inspired by the works of Mother Teresa, she eventually embraced Roman Catholicism and joined the Missionaries of Charity.

She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan on 26 January, 2009.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others paid tribute to Sister Nirmala for her immense devotion in the field of social work.

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