An Irish Loreto nun, Cyril Mooney of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), who was an internationally recognized educational innovator, died at Loreto House, Kolkata, India, on June 24.
She was 87.
She was a compassionate woman who embodied the ideal of a contemporary educator making a positive impact on society.
She received the Padma Shri Award, the Government of India's fourth-highest civilian honor. It was for her social service, especially for children's rights and education.
"Sr. Cyril Mooney, IBVM, was a great soul. She was a well-known educationalist all over the world and was very closely associated with most of the priests and religious, showing her care, concern, and love, assuring them of her prayers. We shall miss her," said Father Fr. Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Calcutta.
On behalf of Archbishop Thomas D'Souza, priests, and religious, Gomes expressed condolences to Sister Sabrina Edwards, IBVM, provincial, all the nuns of Loreto Congregation, and the bereaved family members of Sister Mooney.
D'Souza of Calcutta will officiate the funeral Mass on June 27 at 3 p.m. at St. Thomas Church, Middleton Row.
Mooney was a fierce proponent of social change, a staunch supporter of equality, and the trailblazing creator of an educational system that has transformed the lives of thousands of people.
Mooney was born in Bray, a coastal town in North County Wicklow, Ireland, on July 21, 1936.
The nun arrived in India in 1956, and after becoming the principal of Loreto Day School in Sealdah, Calcutta, in 1979, she implemented several changes intended to expand the school's access to equality education for street children and others.
The 1,400 students at the school, 50% of whom do not pay tuition and come from disadvantaged homes, have transformed the institution, which was formerly only for middle-class females, into a model for social cohesiveness.
The school makes sure that students are not treated differently or unfairly.
Another project that the Irish nun started was a "multiplier" system, which has trained more than 10,000 teachers to specifically care for children in rural towns with few educational options. Sr. Cyril also oversaw the Bhalobasha project, which offers housing for older people in need, microcredit programs, and human rights education initiatives.
She received several awards and recognitions for promoting education among the poor in India.
Years ago, she received a doctorate in Zoology from the University of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in northern India.
Mooney received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin in 2010 in recognition of her efforts to improve educational opportunities for some of India's most underprivileged students.
The esteemed Irish university awarded the degree for initiatives like Kolkata's "Rainbow Day School," which allows up to 200 street children to drop in at any time of the day and receive instruction from specially trained teachers.
These street students would typically not be able to go to school because of their financial situation, which forces them to spend most of their time begging.
The "Her Rainbow Project" is a school within a school where the rich help the underprivileged. Students who will soon be teachers or other professionals go out to local communities where unending literacy growth takes place so that people can escape poverty, injustice, and slavery.
Mooney also provided a home and care for 200 more street children who have no family at the school. Before they went to bed, Cyril used to read their books, like the Narnia Tales or Harry Potter, which is one of his favorite times of the day.
Mooney was a member of the IBVM congregation founded by Mary Ward (1585–1645) for 69 years.
"Sr. Cyril Mooney was a true educator whose legacy will inspire many generations to come," said Jesuit Father PeeJay Joseph, director of Chitrabani Media Center.
"I was fortunate to have worked with her for a few months to understand her 'rainbow project," he added. -Santosh Digal
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