An 81-year-old Catholic nun, who served as a prison counsellor in Singapore for four decades, has been named on this year’s BBC list of 100 influential and inspiring global women.

Good Shepherd Sister Gerard Fernandez, who led the Catholic Church’s prison ministry in the island nation, has been named by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as one of the globally inspiring personalities.

“The Lord has many surprises. This was one of them,” said the nun after hearing of her nomination. At the age of 81, she did not expect any recognition, she said.

“I have not done anything for fame or glory or awards. But I’m happy that a Good Shepherd is selected. Our work is to be with the abandoned,” she told ucanews. Sister Fernandez started visiting prisoners as a young nun. In 1997, when the Singapore Archdiocese began its prison ministry, she was chosen to lead it. The job continued until she relinquished it in 2017.

In her service to prisoners of more than 40 years, she counselled hundreds and “walked with” at least 18 inmates on death row until their execution, the BBC said.

Death row inmates she counselled included two women. Catherine Tan Mui Choo and Hoe Kah Hong, who helped Adrian Lim to murder two children as a sacrifice to the Hindu goddess Kali. Lim claimed to be a medium. All three were hanged in 1988.

The BBC list includes women from more than 50 countries aged from 15 to 98 and selected based on this year’s theme: “The Female Future.”