Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, died in Kolkata on Tuesday this week following renal failure and heart complications, church and order officials said. She was 81.
"She was sick for quite some time. She passed away at 12.05 a.m. today (Tuesday) at the convent where she used to stay in Sealdah," said a source at the Catholic religious order's global headquarters Mother House.
"Sister Nirmala had cardiac complications for long. Lately, she developed an acute kidney problem. She was taken to hospital but brought back to the MoC home two days back," said Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the nation in paying tributes, recalled her lifelong service to the cause of the poor. Modi's Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala also condoled the death of Nirmala, whose parents hailed from the mountainous nation.
Sister Nirmala became the second head of the order after its founder Mother Teresa stepped down from the post in March 1997. The Nobel laureate, who died on September 5 the same year, was in 2003 beatified as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
During her 12-year stewardship of the Kolkata-headquartered order founded in 1950, Sister Nirmala visited a large number of countries, opening new houses and drawing more people to the Missionaries of Charity, which now has under its fold over 4,500 religious sisters and activities spread across 133 countries.
She held the post till March 24, 2009, when she was succeeded by Sister Mary Prema.
Sister Prema said after Mother Teresa, her predecessor took the order forward and worked tirelessly serving the poor and the needy.
Born Nirmala Joshi in Ranchi to a Brahmin family from Nepal in 1934, Nirmala joined the order after converting to Christianity in 1958.
She was honoured with India's second highest civilian order Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for her services to the nation.