ALAPPUZHA: A 30-year-old nun died by suicide at a chapel belonging to Our Lady of Assumption Convent in Sadiq village of Faridkot district under the Diocese of Jalandhar on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Sr Mary Mercy of Alappuzha in Kerala.
The nun reportedly belonged to the Franciscan Immaculatine Sisters, an Italian congregation, and was serving at the Our Lady of Assumption Convent for the past four years. She was found hanging from the window of the chapel.
A suicide note purportedly written by her in Malayalam suggested that she was stalked by loneliness and depression. In the note, she apologized to her parents and friends for taking the extreme step and failing to fulfill her commitment to serve the church till the end of her life.
The body of the nun has been handed over to the church authorities to be further taken to her hometown at Arthunkal in Alappuzha district in Kerala for cremation, said the police.
Meanwhile, after the church authorities informed the family about her suicide, her father John Ouseph lodged a police complaint stating that Sr Mary Mercy was not under any kind of distress. Her parents and her brother also said that when she called them on November 29 she sounded happy. She reminded them about her birthday which falls on December 2. The parents demanded a re-postmortem on her body to ascertain the cause of death.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend, or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)