KARACHI: Sister John Berchmans Conway, an Irish nun who has spent most of her life teaching in Pakistan, will be decorated with the Benedict Medal by the St Mary’s University, London, during a ceremony at the Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday.

The Benedict Medal is the highest honour of St Mary’s University and it will be presented to Sr Berchmans by the Archbishop of Westminster and Chancellor of St Mary’s Cardinal Vincent Nichols during the St Mary’s summer graduation ceremony.

Born in County Clare in Western Ireland in 1930, Sr Berchmans joined the Convent of Jesus and Mary in 1951 in Willesden, London. Coming to Pakistan later she taught Muslim, Christian, Parsi and Hindu children at the Convents of Jesus and Mary in Lahore, Murree and Karachi.

In 2012, while 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 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”.

Sr Berchmans has spent most of her life teaching in Pakistan

During her teaching career, Sr Berchmans taught and inspired thousands of students, among whom also happen to be the late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the renowned MIT astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala who made significant contributions to the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics-winning research which resulted in the first observation of gravitational waves.

Sr Berchmans will become 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, Bishop Richard Moth, St Mary’s Governing Body Chair 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. We are honoured that we will be able to present her with the Benedict Medal during our Institute of Education’s graduation ceremony. Her examples of inclusivity and respect will guide our graduates as they embark on their own teaching journeys and continue to inspire future generations.”

Former British minister and a visiting professor at St Mary’s University Baroness Sayeeda Warsi added: “Sr Berchmans has given her wholehearted commitment to teaching. She has inspired generations of students, who have gone on to make significant contributions to society across a wide range of sectors.

“I had the privilege of visiting Sr Berchmans in Karachi and I saw first-hand how her work and presence has created a lifetime of inter-faith understanding.”

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2019