An Irish nun has been awarded a prestigious medal in recognition of her work teaching and promoting interfaith relations in Pakistan, at a ceremony in Westmister Cathedral on 17 July.
The medal, awarded by St Mary’s University, was presented to Sister Berchmans by the Archbishop of Westminster and Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, during the university’s summer graduation ceremony.
Sr Berchmans, born Bernadette Conway in 1929 in County Clare, Ireland joined the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in 1951. The congregation, dedicated to caring for and educating the young and homeless also focussed on education in other countries. The first Convent of Jesus and Mary in Pakistan was opened by four sisters in Lahore in 1876 and Sr Berchmans was sent to Pakistan in 1953 at the age of 24.
The award is in recognition of her almost 70 years of teaching, most of which was spent in Pakistan, where she taught Muslim, Christian, Parsi and Hindu children at the Convents of Jesus and Mary in Lahore and later in Murree and Karachi.
In 2012, whilst she was Principal of the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Karachi, Sr Berchmans was awarded the “Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam”, one of the highest civil awards given by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The award citation celebrated her “constant adherence to the call of duty over a span of 59 years, which has made Sister Berchmans a living example to emulate.”
During her teaching career, Sr Berchmans taught and inspired thousands of students, including the late Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, and renowned MIT Astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala who made significant contributions to research which resulted in the first observation of gravitational waves and which was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Sr Berchmans is the fifth recipient, and the first woman, to be presented with the Benedict Medal, joining previous recipients Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople, Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all-Ireland, Former Archbishop of Canterbury Baron Williams of Oystermouth, and Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former Chief Executive of Ofsted and alumnus of St Mary’s.
Speaking of the award, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said: “Sr Berchmans’ dedication and commitment to the thousands of students she has taught is an inspiration to anyone committed to the vocation of teaching..Her examples of inclusivity and respect will guide our graduates as they embark on their own teaching journeys and continue to inspire future generations.”
President of Ireland, Michael Higgins, described Sr Berchmans as an illustration of the “beauty and potential of teaching”: “Through her words and actions, Sr Berchmans has not only inspired her students but also encouraged those she met to make positive and lasting contributions to society. Through her work and her dedication to teaching she has become a powerful illustration of the beauty and potential of teaching, and she has been an outstanding example of the power of inclusivity and inter-personal empowerment. May I congratulate her on her award and thank her for work, and for the legacy she has created.”
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