On 1st May 1974 she committed herself to the service of God and humanity and took the name ‘Sr. Rani Maria’. Realizing her great missionary zeal she was sent to Bijnor mission in U.P. in 1976. She was first asked by her superiors to go to teach in a school. For seven years, Sr. Rani Maria had been a member of St. Mary’s convent, Bijnor. Feeling one with the poor she used to say “I will die for these poor”. Miles and miles she walked to meet villagers. Deeply convinced she used to say. “This is my vocation, to serve the poor and I will do this till the end of my life”. She was true to her words throughout her 21 years of committed life.
Then she concentrated her work on the Harijans and the illiterate who were the most exploited. At Odagady, many a time she had been threatened. Courageous as she was, she never got disappointed, instead this deepened her faith and strengthened her missionary zeal.
In 1992 Sr. Rani Maria arrived at Udainagar, Indore, M.P. after 16 years of dedicated missionary work with a reputation of being a very committed social worker, organizer and animator. With the arrival of Sr. Rani Maria, the missionary activities in Udainagar took a turn for the better, to an organized way of functioning. At Udainagar Sr. Rani Maria’s life time was short but busy.
The immediate reason for the cold blooded murder of Sr. Rani Maria was the way she helped a group of poor, litterate and ignorant Catholic villagers, when they had been arrested after a fight with a local mafia leader to seek justice in the Court of Low.
On 25th February 1995, when Sr. Rani Maria was on her way to Bhopal to go to Kerala, she was assaulted in a local bus while travelling from Udainagar to Indore. The bus was stopped when it reached a jungle area about 25 km. away from Udainagar; Sister was stabbed, dragged out of the bus and brutally stabbed to death killed by Samandar Singh.
After that, he converted to Christianity and today he is a different man. He helps tribals and for him Sister Rani's family has become his own. "I regularly visit her tomb," he said. "For me, it is like a sanctuary of peace and strength." (ref: Catholic.org)
Birth Name
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Marykunju
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Born
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29th January 1954 in the village Pulluvazhy, Ernakulam District
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Died
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25th February 1995
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People Call her
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“Rani [queen] of Udainagar.”
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