Church lead ers have mourn ed the death of a well-known so-cial worker and reformer, who had become “am-ma” (mother) to hundreds of wo-men, mostly Mu-slims, in Kerala’s Malappuram dis-trict. Apostolic Carmel Sister Marienie succumbed to cancer on October 21 at a private hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala. She was 58.
“Her passion for the people of Nilambur [Kerala] was palpable in everything she dreamt and did for them,” Sister Maria Nirmalini, Apostolic Carmel superior general told Matters India October 23. Sister Marienie was a crusader of women’s empowerment in Nilambur, a town in Kerala’s Malappuram district, as the director of Fatimagiri Social Service Centre since 2010. She had worked tirelessly for their welfare and brought several changes in their lives, Sister Nirmalini said.
“Her empowerment of women, awareness programs and relief and comfort during floods were well appreciated,” said Sister Nirmalini who termed Sister Marinie’s “untimely death” as a big loss to their congre-gation as well as to the people of Kerala.