By Matters India Reporter

Kolkata, Aug 17, 2020: The only woman to edit India’s first Catholic weekly, who had spent years to rehabilitate sex workers, died of cardiac arrest August 17 in Kolkata, eastern India.

Sister Caridad Paramundayil was 71.

The member of the Sisters Adorers Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and Charity, who was popularly called Sister Caridad, was the editor of The Kolkata-based Herald, the oldest Catholic weekly in India. She was the only female editor of prominent Catholic weeklies in India that have been edited by priests even after a century.

Sister Caridad was suffering from cancer for some years.

The death was confirmed by Father Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the Calcutta archdiocese, in a condolence message. According to him, Sister Caridad died of cardiac arrest at 10:30 am at AMRI (Advanced Medical Research Institute) Hospital at Salt Lake, a suburb of Kolkata.

Sister Caridad was admitted to the hospital a few days ago and was undergoing treatment, according to a source in hospital who requested anonymity.

Sister Cardidad was the Herald editor during 1994-1997, recalls I P Sarto, a priest of Asansol diocese who had worked in the weekly first as interim editor late 1980s.

Father Gomes says as the editor of the Herald, Sister Caridad had updated the whole computerizing system of the weekly.

“The Archdiocese will remain indebted to Sr. Caridad,” Father Gomes added.

The funeral Mass will be held at 10 am on August 18 in the archdiocesan chapel. “The funeral will be held as per Covid 19 guidelines,” said the vicar general offering his :heartfelt condolences” to Sister Alice Varkey , the provincial of the Sisters Adorers in Kolkata.

Sister Caridad was survived by some siblings. One of her younger siblings – Celine — is a member of the Medical Mission Sisters.

She was born Elsykutty on November 1, 1948, at Bharananganam of Palai diocese in Kottayam district of Kerala.

On becoming a nun, she chose the name Caridad (charity).

She had a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in History, Psychology, Theology and Education. He spoke English, Hindi, Malayalam, Oriya and Spanish.

For nine years she was the secretary provincial of her congregation in Kolkata and has also performed responsibilities of diocesan and at the conference of West Bengal religious.

She translated the Spanish writings of the founder of her congregation, Saint María Micaela (1809-1865), and the other documents of the religious order from Spanish to English.

The congregation was founded in 1856. Sisters Adorers now work in Andhra, Goa, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal.

For seven years, she had worked as a teacher and educator directly with prostitutes. She was also responsible for social development projects and education in Calcutta and Siliguri in West Bengal, New Delhi and Orissa (now Odisha) in Kandhamal and Rayagada districts.

She went to Spain to begin her religious training at the age of 17 and remained there for several years before returning to India.

Being the provincial secretary, she involved in the opening from the congregation’s centers in West Bengal, Delhi, Orissa and Hyderabad to rescue and rehabilitate victims of forced prostitution.

“I love her much because she was a hardworking, efficient, perfectionist, jovial, always smiling, energetic, and full of life. She was ready to meet the needs of others,” Sister Jane Joseph of the same congregation, a close friend of Caridad, told Matters India.

Her enthusiasm and zeal for the mission are inexplicable. She translated several books from Spanish to English so that the members could understand and know about our founder and the congregation, the nun said.

The Herald is among five prominent English language Catholic weeklies in India: The Examiner, The New Leader, Indian Currents and Sathyadeepam.

The Herald, the official paper of the Archdiocese of Calcutta launched in 1839, continues to give life serve the Catholics of West Bengal and the rest of India.

The only other woman to make a mark in Indian Church media is Joyce Almeida, who edited now defunct South Asian Religious(SAR) News.

With its motto “Heralding Justice, Peace, Truth and Love”, The Herald had been a close friend and companion to several people down these years. It reaches some 10,000 people every week, spreading the love and peace of Jesus.