By: Smitha George

Kottayam,Kerala: Eminent gynaecologist and former medical superintendent and head of the gynecology department of the Little Lourdes Mission Hospital, Kidangoor in Kottayam district, died Nov 16. She was 65.

Dr Sister Mary Marcellus was undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Ernakulam after suffering critical injuries in an accident.

Sr Marcellus. who belongs to Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (SVM) congregation, was the first nun to join a government run medical college in Kerala. She joined the MBBS course in Medical College in Kottayam on merit in 1974. After her graduation, Sr Marcellus worked at Caritas Hospital in Kottayam for 2 years.

Afterwards she joined Trinity College in Dublin in Ireland where she won the Gold Medal in Diploma in Gynecology and Obstetrics . Sr Marcellus was a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, UK. She worked at different hospitals in UK and Ireland before returning to Kerala in 1991.

On her return, she joined Little Lourdes Mission Hospital managed by Kottayam archdiocese. She worked there for 26 years.

In her professional career , Sr Marcellus has reportedly assisted at least 50,000 deliveries. She opposed abortion, artificial family planning methods, artificial infertility treatments and even banned artificial feeds for babies. She believed that neither doctors nor parents had the right to interfere with God’s plans.

In a recent interview to a television channel, Sr Marcellus shared that she had great satisfaction in her 36 years of service and felt God’s guiding hand all along her career. Her motto in life was ‘By the grace of God I am what I am’.

Sr Marcellus will be laid to rest at Kidangoor on Nov 18.