Mary Emily Gonsalves was a Roman Catholic nun from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Pakistan.

Early life

She was born in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1919. She started her teaching career in a school in

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to the nor ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1940. In 1944 she joined the

Daughters of the Cross The Daughters of the Cross of Liège (french: Filles de la Croix) are Religious Sisters in the Catholic Church who are members of a religious congregation founded in 1833 by the Blessed Marie Thérèse Haze, F.C. (1782–1876). The organizatio ...

religious congregation. She went on to do a master's degree in English and Economics. She taught in a college in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

before she moved to Pakistan in 1957.

Career

From 1972 to 1982 Sister Mary Emily was the Principal of the St. Joseph's College (Karachi),

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. St. Joseph's is one of Pakistan's leading Colleges. In 2007, 1,548 students were studying in the college with a total of 78 teachers. In 2005, when St. Joseph's College was returned to the Catholic Board of Education Sr Emily was again appointed principal. On 23 March 2009 the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

awarded Sr. Emily the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, which she received from the

Governor of Sindh The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Minister of Sindh, chief minister and t ...

. This was in recognition of her services to education. Sr. Emily died in Karachi on 9 January 2017. Her funeral was held at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi on January 10, 2017.

References

20th-century Pakistani Roman Catholic nuns Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Pakistani educators 2017 deaths Pakistani people of Mangalorean descent Pakistani Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Pakistan Missionary educators 1919 births Academics from Karachi Women heads of universities and colleges 21st-century Pakistani Roman Catholic nuns {{RC-bio-stub