‘Mother Teresa’ of Cairo buried in France

CALLIAN, France – France paid a warm tribute yesterday to Sister Emmanuelle, a much-loved 99-year-old nun who dedicated much of her life to the service of the poorest of the poor in both Egypt and her homeland.

She was given a private burial in the town of Callian in a ceremony reflecting the simplicity of her life, and was later to be honoured with a requiem mass in Notre Dame cathedral in Paris to mark the esteem in which she was held. Sister Emmanuelle , whom the Vatican has compared to Mother Teresa, died on Monday after a long career working with the poor and homeless.She was buried in the village cemetery of Callian, where she had lived since 1993, after a service for family members and friends from the retirement home belonging to her Catholic order, the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion.Her funeral came as her publisher released a transcript of a recording Sister Emmanuelle had made before her death to promote the last volume of her memoirs – ‘Confessions of a Nun’ – written for publication after her death.”When you hear this message, I will no longer be there.In telling of my life – all of my life – I wanted to bear witness that love is more powerful than death,” she said, according to the text.Sister Emmanuelle, who had been called Madeleine Cinquin before taking her vows, was best known in France for her frequent appearances on television to campaign passionately for the poor and homeless.She came to media attention here with her work with some of the world’s poorest people, the residents of the Ezbet El-Nakhl slum in Cairo who eke out a living by scavenging through the garbage produced in the huge Egyptian city.The nun also won many French hearts with her straight talk and her defiance of Catholic orthodoxy by backing contraception and marriage for priests.Nampa-AFPSister Emmanuelle , whom the Vatican has compared to Mother Teresa, died on Monday after a long career working with the poor and homeless.She was buried in the village cemetery of Callian, where she had lived since 1993, after a service for family members and friends from the retirement home belonging to her Catholic order, the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion.Her funeral came as her publisher released a transcript of a recording Sister Emmanuelle had made before her death to promote the last volume of her memoirs – ‘Confessions of a Nun’ – written for publication after her death.”When you hear this message, I will no longer be there.In telling of my life – all of my life – I wanted to bear witness that love is more powerful than death,” she said, according to the text.Sister Emmanuelle, who had been called Madeleine Cinquin before taking her vows, was best known in France for her frequent appearances on television to campaign passionately for the poor and homeless.She came to media attention here with her work with some of the world’s poorest people, the residents of the Ezbet El-Nakhl slum in Cairo who eke out a living by scavenging through the garbage produced in the huge Egyptian city.The nun also won many French hearts with her straight talk and her defiance of Catholic orthodoxy by backing contraception and marriage for priests.Nampa-AFP