Kolkata: Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa’s successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 81.
Born in Ranchi in 1934 to a Brahmin soldier who came from Nepal, Nirmala Joshi joined the order at the age of 17, after converting from Hinduism.
A prayer service is likely to be held later in the day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to condole her death.
Several calls made to the spokesperson of Missionaries of Charity, Sunita Kumar remained unanswered.
After joining the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Nirmala studied law at the insistence of Mother Teresa, who often took her along during her tours abroad. She took over as the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity in 1997.
Sister Nirmala was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for her services to the nation.