Irish nun honored for lengthy
teaching career in Pakistan
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| Sr.Berchmans with Cardinal Nichols, Muhammad Nafees Zakaria (centre R), Adrian O'Neil (R), and two former pupils |
A Catholic university in the UK awards Sister Berchmans with
the Benedict Medal, its most prestigious award, for her 65 years of service
teaching children in Pakistan.
By Devin Watkins
Sixty-five years spent teaching, most of them dedicated to
Muslim, Christian, Parsi, and Hindu children in Pakistan.
Sr Berchmans inspired thousands of students and even
educated Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, the late Benazir Bhutto, as well as
Nobel laureate Nergis Mavalvala.
Now, at the age of 89, the Irish nun has received further
recognition of her dedication and teaching prowess.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster,
presented Sr. Berchmans with the Benedict Medal last week.
The award is the most prestigious given by St. Mary’s
University, Twickenham, in London, and is named after Pope Emeritus Benedict
XVI, who visited in 2010. Recipients are decorated for significant
contributions to education, interfaith-relations, and public life.
High praise
Presenting Sr. Berchmans with the medal at the graduation
ceremony, Cardinal Nichols, who is also the Chancellor of St. Mary’s
University, praised her dedication and commitment. “Her examples of inclusivity
and respect will guide our graduates as they embark on their own teaching
journeys and continue to inspire future generations,” he said.
Also on hand was the President of Ireland, Michael Higgins,
who congratulated Sr Berchmans for her contributions to society. “Through her
work and her dedication to teaching she has become a powerful illustration of
the beauty and potential of teaching,” he said, “and she has been an
outstanding example of the power of inclusivity and inter-personal
empowerment.”
Muhammad Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom, called her a beacon for people to follow.
“We must all look up to these kind of people, like Sr
Berchmans, and have at least one or two of their attributes in our own lives,”
he said. “The world needs people like her more than ever.”
Missionary example
Sr. John Berchmans Conway, R.J.M. was born in County Clare,
Ireland, in 1930, joining the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Willesden, London,
in 1951.
A missionary to Pakistan, she taught at the Convents of
Jesus and Mary in Lahore, Murree, and Karachi.
She even received one of Pakistan’s highest civil awards –
the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam – in celebration of her “constant adherence to the
call of duty”.
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