Derek O’Brien, Rajya Sabha member, paid a fitting tribute to Sister Cyril at her funeral service at St. Thomas' Church, Kolkata, on June 27.
Excerpts from the speech:
My father was connected with Sister Cyril for over 50 years. Although my parents are no longer alive, there are many memories that I can still recollect. During the Seventies and Eighties, I witnessed first-hand Sister Cyril and my dad, both educators, disagreeing on a lot of topics related to education, through which my dad had learnt a lot. On June 24, when Sister Sabrina texted me that Sister Cyril had passed away, I was reminded of the fact that, while both of them argued a lot, my father had also passed away seven years ago on June 24.
Among those at the funeral service were friends, family, and many other who knew the Sister, including Melinda Pavek, US consul-general, Kolkata
I’m also reminded of a great book published in 2017 that was written by Sister Cyril titled Girls are Our Future (Girls are Our Future: Thoughts of a Practical Radical Nun), representing truly what our society is all about today. If you haven’t read this book, you’ll not get this one because there were 22 copies left last night on Amazon, and all were picked up. There is no need to despair as we spoke with the publishers and subject to the approval of Loreto Sisters, I think this book needs to be read by all beyond English in Bangla, Marathi, Tamil and so on.
With the permission of the archbishop, I’d like to drive your attention to the Rainbow Homes, a fascinating concept. One can write a thesis on them, but I will speak on a few pertinent points in a simplified manner. It’s called 'IN LOVE' which symbolises the essence of the Loreto Rainbow Home.
‘I’ stands for India, ‘N’ for non-custodial, meaning no one can take the Loreto Sisters to court because the people living there are non-custodials. The ‘L’ refers to the long-term relationship, as Sister Cyril never deemed the homes as shelters. ‘O’ stood for being open, ‘V’ for voluntary, and ‘E’ for education.
Today, on behalf of everyone watching, we want to tell the archbishop, 25 priests celebrating this mass, every brother, priest, and nun, we admire the work you do and please continue to do so. People like us will be at your service.
