The government of Pakistan will accord a state funeral to Sister Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau, a German-born member of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary who devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan. Sister Ruth, dubbed the Mother Teresa of Pakistan, died on 10 August in Karachi. She was 87.
“Sister Ruth was a model of total dedication. She inspired and mobilised all sections of society to join the fight against leprosy, irrespective of creed or ethnic identity,” Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, president of Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told Catholic News Service on 11 August. “We are happy that the government is according her a state funeral on 19 August,” the archbishop said, noting it would be at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Karachi.
