Scottish Catholic Observer

Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both aged 68, were found dead in their car after being reported missing. Police have so far failed to confirm the causes of death and have yet to establish a suspect, but Fr Greg Plata OFM, parish priest of St Thomas’ Catholic Church in Lexington said that police had told him the two nuns had been stabbed.

Their bodies were discovered in Durant, Mississippi after they did not arrive for work at a nearby clinic, where they worked as nurses providing medical care for the poor people of the wider area. It was also suggested that there had been signs of a break-in at their home.

In a statement from the Diocese of Jackson, a spokesperson said. ‘We are terribly saddened to have to announce the murder of two sisters in our diocese. Police found two bodies in the home of Sister Paula Merrill, SCN, and Sister Margaret Held, OSF, in Durant, Mississippi. The pair had not showed up to the Lexington Medical Clinic, where they worked, so workers called police. The bodies have not been positively identified, but we have no reason to believe anyone else would have been in the house’.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson also spoke of the ministry of the two nuns, and the shock of local people.

“These sisters have spent years of dedicated service here in Mississippi,” he said. “They absolutely loved the people in their community. We mourn with the people of Lexington and Durant and we pray for the Sisters of Charity, the School Sisters of St Francis and the families left behind.”

As the small Catholic community in Mississippi is left reeling form the news, Fr Plata paid tribute to the two deceased sisters, saying, ‘These were the two sweetest sisters you could imagine. It’s so senseless.”