CALLIAN (France), Oct 22: France paid a warm tribute on Wednesday 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.

“I have confessed everything, the good and the less good, and I can tell you about it. Where I am now, life does not end for those who know how to love.”—AFP