Brazilian nun Sister Nadir Santos da Silva, local prioress of the Carmelite Messengers of the Holy Spirit, died on May 11 in Sicily after drowning while heroically saving several sisters from her community. The sisters had been swept away by the sea during a time of recreation.
“Some sisters were in the sea, in a shallow area with no apparent risk. Then the waves suddenly began dragging them under, and they started to drown. There were three sisters,” Sister Ana Paula, CMES, recounted in a video shared on social media.
Hearing their cries for help, Sister Nadir ran and jumped into the sea to save them. She managed to reach one of the drowning nuns and lifted her head above the water. “Thank God, she managed to save that sister,” Sister Ana Paula said.
Another nun then entered the sea, helped pull the others to safety, and recovered Sister Nadir’s body. “They tried to administer first aid, but she was already unconscious. The firefighters arrived and, minutes later, confirmed the nun’s death,” Sister Ana Paula added.
“What impacted me most was seeing that she went all the way—living exactly what Jesus taught in John 15: ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay
