Guwahati, March 22, 2026: Mother Mary Rose Thapa, the first Superior General of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), passed away in Guwahati on the morning of March 22, 2026, at 6:10 AM due to age-related illness. She was 91.
Born on March 11, 1935, she made her religious profession on December 8, 1956, and dedicated her life to the service of the Church as a missionary religious.
She had received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on the previous day at the MSMHC Provincialate in Guwahati, where she had been residing. According to a communiqué, she “peacefully surrendered her life to the Lord.” The Congregation and the faithful expressed gratitude for her long and dedicated service.
Mother Mary Rose Thapa served as the first MSMHC Superior General from 1970 to 1988, guiding the Congregation for nearly two decades during a crucial period of its growth and expansion.
Born as Lakshmi Thapa into a Nepali Hindu family, she encountered the Christian faith as a young woman and was baptised in 1953 by Bishop Stephen Ferrando, founder of the Congregation. She later embraced religious life, offering herself fully to the missionary call of the Church.
Under her leadership, the Congregation strengthened its missionary identity and expanded its outreach, especially among rural and tribal communities of Northeast India. Her life was marked by simplicity, prayer, and commitment to evangelisation and service.
The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, the first indigenous women’s religious congregation of Northeast India, was founded on October 24, 1942, in Guwahati by Bishop Stephen Ferrando, SDB. Today, the Congregation has six provinces in India—Bangalore, Guwahati, Kolkata, Shillong, Tinsukia, and Tezpur—and mission delegations in Italy and Africa.
The Congregation has over 1,460 members from around 80 ethnic groups, serving in 70 dioceses across 240 centres worldwide. Sr. Christine Mynsong currently serves as the eighth Superior General, elected on January 27, 2024.
Bishop Albert Hemrom of Dibrugarh, Chairman of NESCOM, expressed condolences on the passing of Mother Mary Rose Thapa. “Her life was a witness to faith, humility, and missionary commitment. She served the Church with dedication and guided the Congregation with wisdom,” he said. He assured prayers for her eternal rest and expressed solidarity with the MSMHC Congregation.
Mother Mary Rose Thapa’s life remains a witness to faith, humility, and missionary dedication, continuing to inspire the Church in Northeast India and across the global missionary community.