Thousands of mourners including Bishops, Priests, Religious, Lay faithful, and Muslims came out to bid Rev. Sr. Bernadette O’Reilly IJ farewell in a solemn Eucharistic celebration held on the 18 January 2021 at our queen of peace primary school, Jos.
in a homily, the Chancellor of the diocese of Pankshin, Very Rev. Fr. John Go’ar thanked God for life of Sr. Bernadette who he said was gift to the people of God, lived a very simple and dedicated lifestyle “my brothers and sisters, the personal testimony of people, showed that she left behind many good works, and we pray that this good works, will follow her to her heavenly abode.” he praised her charitable lifestyle, while also encouraging the people of God to live a life that will be remembered for good works “Sr. Bernadette understood fully the gospel of love, she understood it with every fiber of her indomitable spirit. she practiced with daily, with her whole heart, and through the daily chores of her hands, touching the fibrics of religious, and cultural and ethnic differences, she has taught the world this necessary lesson; it is better to give than to receive.”
The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Matthew Ishaya Audu, while delivery a condolence message on behalf of the Archdiocese, condoled with the immediate family, the infant Jesus sisters the and people of God in the Archdiocese of Jos, stating that “our prayer is that, through this mass that we offer, incase there is anything she might have done that we did not know, that God will forgive her and welcome her to paradise”.
Rev. Sr. Maria Vitalis, of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, the congregation to which late Sr. Bernadette belonged, read out a tribute to Sr. Bernadette, who she says will be missed by many whose lives she has touched in different ways. “Sr. Ber, you were a living saint that has walked the face of the earth, you were recognized and loved by all because any and everywhere you went, your presence was felt, and your footprints left behind. Like the Child Jesus, you were vulnerable and fragile, yet strong and agile till your last moment.”
Other condolence messages came from the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Bishop of Pankshin, Most, Rev. Michael Gokum, the education commission of the Archdiocese of Jos, the PTA of the school among others.
Rev. Sr. Bernadette O’Reilly is the first daughter in an Irish family blessed with four children. She came to Nigeria in 2001 and have been in the country since then, serving the people of God in various capacities but primarily at the Our Lady Queen of Peace primary school, Jos where she served as the head teacher since 2003 till her death on the 15th January, 2022. She was knocked down by a vehicle on January 7, on her way home after visiting and giving financial help to one of the less privileged families she usually assists, she died 8 days later at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) at the age of 63.
Sr. Ber, as she is fondly called, will be remembered mostly for her selfless and love for the poor, giving hope to the hopeless, and passion for justice.