The Salesian officials at their theologate at Kavarapettai near Chennai had invited me to be the Chief Guest at their Pope’s Day celebrations on 29 June this year, the feast day of Sts Peter and Paul. The main event was a seminar on the latest apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Gaudete at Exultate (Rejoice and be glad). Apart from about 60 Salesian students of theology from three Indian States, and their professors, there were Sisters and some lay men and women.
After four of the students presented this papal document with the help of slides, I had to speak. In order to highlight a point made by Pope Francis in his exhortation, I asked them to think of someone whom they had lived or worked with, who would qualify to be called a saint – in the light of what Pope Francis says of ‘saints next door.’ Ms. Margaret Rosair, a retired English teacher who was there, came up to talk of a PBVM Sister who had died ten days earlier. She explained why she thought Sr Isabel, who loved and served the poor till the end, was a saint. I said I’d agree wholeheartedly.
Sr Isabel Dias PBVM was born at Chandor, Goa, in 1929 as the sixth child of Mr. Diogo Santano Dias and Mrs. Terezinha Gomes. After her studies, she worked as a teacher in Mumbai for two years and then joined the Presentation Sisters (PBVM) in 1953. Starting her religious formation in Church Park, Chennai, she made her first profession in 1955 and her final profession in 1960.
After teaching in the schools run by PBVM Sisters in Chennai, she served as an administrator in their novitiate in Bangalore and then as the community animator in Bombay from 1974 till 1982. After retiring from active teaching, she worked in Perambur, Chennai for five years and then she moved to the George Town community, where she spent a total of 35 years working with the poor.
During the 20 years when I edited the New Leader, I met her many a time. She would be the first one to welcome you and make you feel at home by taking care of you. She sat in the front row in the church, participating in the Eucharist attentively and devoutly. The hours she spent before the Blessed Sacrament gave her the energy she needed for her work with the poor. A kind, compassionate, and caring person, Sr Isabel had always a gracious smile on her face.
Sr Isabel sought to empower the poor by training them in various skills. She used her entrepreneurial skills to start a successful business venture which helped many poor women to eke out a living and support their families. Her delicious cakes, cookies and wine were in great demand during festive occasions. The decorations she came up with for weddings or feasts testified to her artistic, creative skills.
Ms Arlene Correya is an ‘associate’ of Nano Nagle, the courageous and compassionate Irish woman who founded the PBVM Sisters. She says, “I was privileged to work closely with Sr Isabel during the last ten years. She inspired us to reach out to the poor. She took us to homes for the aged and cancer hospitals and encouraged us to share our time and love with the inmates. She knocked at the doors of schools and colleges to obtain admission for the poor children. She was never ashamed to beg from the rich in order to meet the educational and medical expenses of the poor. She loved to narrate Bible stories to children and took a great interest in preparing them to receive the sacraments of Communion and Confirmation. She stressed the importance of family prayer and encouraged them to serve at the altar. Sr Isabel was the voice for the voiceless. She was the good news for the poor.”
Sr Isabel died on 20 June 2018 at the age of 89. Sr Leela Kallarackal PBVM, who knew her well, says, “Sr Isabel can be called the Nano Nagle of Chennai.” One of the things that showed this was true was the way the poor, needy women gave vent to their sorrow at her funeral at St Mary’s Co-cathedral, Chennai on 21 June. They cried, they sobbed, they wailed without any inhibition.
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