Sister Prasanna Devi spent four decades in a mountain range in the western state of Gujarat and was revered even by Hindus
An Indian Catholic nun who inspired Hindus with her ascetic way of life in a forest, died in the western state of Gujarat on Feb. 27. She was 88.
Father Vinod Kanat who took care of the ailing nun told UCA News that she was alert and even blessed some people who visited her till about 30 minutes before her death.
Sister Prasanna Devi was living in the presbytery of the Junagadh parish for the past nine years as she had no one to take care of her.
The nun had lived for over four decades in an isolated hut in the dense forest of the nearby Girnar mountain range, among panthers and other wild animals, until a fall in 2014 compelled her to leave.
“The nun was admitted to the Church-run Christ Hospital in Rajkot city on Feb. 3 following some uneasiness and returned to the parish on Feb. 25,” Father Kanat said.
The nun had many Hindu followers who used to consider her a goddess and would address her as Mataji (mother). Some believed impossible things become possible due to her blessings.
“Mataji was like a goddess for us,” said Nagbhai C. Vala, a retired government officer whose association with the nun dates back to 1975.
“She was instrumental in giving a new lease of life to many who wanted to commit suicide. She helped the poor build houses and get medical treatment among other things.”
The nun did not have any possessions but had many wealthy and influential devotees who at her instruction offered help to the poor and needy.
“She even distributed whatever she got as offerings from her devotees to the poor,” the 82-year-old Vala told UCA News.
The former government official said he first heard about Jesus Christ and Christianity from Sister Prasanna Devi.
“She narrated to me and others about the never-ending love of Christ and practiced it in her real life, without any discrimination or barriers such as caste, creed, religion and language,” he added.
“Sister Prasanna Devi was a great asset to the Catholic Church as she practiced a unique way of ascetic lifestyle that is purely in tune with Indian Hindu religious traditions,” Bishop Jose Chittooparambil of Rajkot diocese said.
The nun was the only known hermit nun belonging to the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church in India, he said.
The prelate said her death “has created a void very difficult to fill up.”
Sister Prasanna Devi was around 40 when she set up her own hermitage inside the forest and began to live alone, clad in saffron-colored clothes, a sign of renunciation akin to Hindu ascetics.
She was born in 1934 as the eldest among three children of Joseph and Mariamma Kunnapallil in Karimannur Parish of Kerala state in southern India. Not sure of her future plans after grade 10, she remained at home for around a few years, spending time in church activities.
She finally decided to become a nun and joined the Order of the Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart at the age of 22, but had to leave the congregation after five years as the order’s only house in India closed.
Thereafter, she traveled around India, visiting Hindu temples and monasteries among other things, and finally decided to opt for an ascetic life. Over the years, she found many followers, mostly Hindus, and Jains from the vicinity of the Girnar hills in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
She was supposed to celebrate her 89th birthday on March 13 and would often say to Father Kanat that she would live until the ripe age of 92.
Sister Prasanna Devi will be buried at the cemetery of St. Ann Parish in Junagadh on March 1.