"Sister Prema, whose name means love, is the new superior of the Sisters of Mother Teresa"

From AsiaNews

Kolkata (AsiaNews) – In Sanskrit “Prema means love,” love that is pure and holy, a name that befits the new superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, Brother Paul told AsiaNews. The 41-year-old British priest is a member of the male branch of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious congregation founded by Mother Teresa.
Sister Prema met the Blessed for the first time in 1980, in Berlin, after reading Something Beautiful for God, a book by BBC journalist Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote about his meeting with Mother Teresa in 1969 when he was making a documentary on the nun from Kolkata that would make her known worldwide.

“I know Sister Prema. She is a visionary, a deeply spiritual person with an implicit trust in God. She has a clear understanding of her mission, with the charism of the Missionaries of Charity implanted in her heart, to serve Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor,” said Brother Paul who has been posted for the past seven years in the Shanti Bhavan, or House of Peace, in Kolkata.

The general chapter of the Missionaries of Charity held in Dum Dum picked the German-born nun to replace Indian-born Sister Nirmala Joshi as the head of the congregation to reflect its international reach, which now includes some 4,500 nuns in 133 countries.

Mgr Lucas Sircar, archbishop of Kolkata, said that Sister Prema was elected on the first round of voting, getting more than two thirds of the votes cast by 163 delegates.

For Brother Paul the new superior general’s country of origin does not represent any change since “God looks not at nationalities, but at hearts.”

Sister Prema’s task now is “to guide the Missionaries of Charity towards the holiness of our Blessed Mother Teresa.”

"German Elected to Lead Missionaries of Charity"

From ZENIT

Mother Teresa's Successor Steps Down

CALCUTTA, MARCH 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- German Sister Mary Prema was elected as superior-general of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

The Union of Catholic Asian News reported today that the election took place during the congregation's general chapter, which ended today in Calcutta.

Sister Mary Prema succeeds Sister Nirmala Joshi, who has headed the congregation since the founder's death in 1997.

Sister Nirmala was re-elected for the third time, but UCAN cited sources inside the congregation that revealed she requested to be relieved of her obligations for health reasons, and because she wanted to dedicate herself to a more contemplative life within the Missionaries of Charity.

Some 163 sisters voted at the general chapter, of whom 74 are of Indian origin and the rest are from other countries of the world.

Spiritual exercises

The outgoing superior, Sister Nirmala, was invited to preach spiritual exercises to directors of Asia's diocesan Caritas chapters at a meeting planned for this September in Taipei, Taiwan.

The meeting is being organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the dicastery responsible for coordinating the charitable activities of the Catholic Church, which already convoked a similar meeting for Latin America in Guadalajara, Mexico, in June 2008.

Sources of the dicastery confirmed to ZENIT that Sister Nirmala has not declined this invitation, and will honor the commitment to preach the spiritual exercises, together with other prelates of the Asian continent.

"German Nun to Lead Missionaries of Charity"

From Earth Times

New Delhi - German-born Sister Mary Prema has been elected the new head of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, a spokeswoman for the order said Thursday. The appointment has to be ratified by the Vatican.

"Sister Mary will be reaching Mother House [the global headquarters of the order in Kolkata] on Friday," said Sister Christie, spokeswoman for the Missionaries of Charity. "We will be able to give more details only after she is here."

The congregation's general chapter elected Sister Mary Prema as superior general Tuesday, Sister Christie said.

Sister Mary Prema, 55, was born as Mechtild Pierick in Recken in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state.

She joined Mother Teresa's order at the age of 27 and has since been a member of the congregation, serving in Rome and Nepal among other places.

Known to be close to Mother Teresa, the low-profile Sister Mary Prema is one of the seniormost nuns of the order.

She was chosen as one of the four leaders to lead the congregation at the general chapter held in 2003. The order holds a general chapter every six years to evaluate the functioning of the congregation.

The 2009 general chapter elected her to lead the order after current superior general Sister Nirmala said she wanted to dedicate herself to a more contemplative life within the Missionaries of Charity, the Union of Catholic News website reported.

Sister Nirmala, 74, has headed the Missionaries of Charity since Mother Teresa's death in 1997.

A total of 163 nuns voted at the general chapter to choose Sister Mary Prema to take over as the new leader, the Union of Catholic Asian News reported.

Seventy-four of the nuns were from India and the rest were from the more than 130 countries where the order has branches.

Albania-born Mother Teresa lived and worked in Kolkata for more than 45 years ministering to the sick, dying and orphans. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Kolkata in 2003.

The Missionaries of Charity now has more than 4,000 nuns as part of the order and runs more than 700 branches round the world.

*Videos* of Bl. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)

Hat tip to Dave Myers for finding these beautiful videos. They are posted on the sidebar under "vocations videos". Please take the time to watch these powerful videos of Bl. Teresa herself speaking!