Nirmala Joshi

Maria Nirmala Joshi (23 July 1934 – 23 June 2015) was an Indian religious sister who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity and expanded the movement overseas. After taking over the charity following Mother Teresa's death in 1997, Nirmala expanded the organisation's reach to 134 countries by opening centres in nations such as Afghanistan and Thailand.

Early life and education Joshi, née Kusum, was born on 23 July 1934 in a Brahmin family as the eldest of the ten children at in Ranchi, Bihar and Orissa Province in the British Indian Empire (now the capital of the Indian State of Jharkhand). Her parents were from Nepal and her father was an officer of the British Indian Army until the nation's independence in 1947. Joshi completed a master's degree in political science and then went on to secure a doctorate degree in law from the University of Calcutta. Her term as Superior General ended on 25 March 2009, and she was succeeded by German born Sister Mary Prema Pierick.

Death Joshi died on 25 June 2015 in Kolkata from a heart ailment. Many leaders of India expressed their condolences in media, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.