Sister Nirmala, successor to Mother Teresa, dies at 81

As head of the order for 12 years, Sister Nirmala kept up Mother Teresa's work of helping the poor and sick in Kolkata's slums, before stepping down in 2009 because of ill health. - AFP/File / Deshakalyan Chowdhury

Kolkata (AFP) - Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as head of her Missionaries of Charity in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, died on Tuesday at the age of 81, church officials said.

Joshi had been suffering from a heart condition and her health had been deteriorating recently, confining her to a Missionaries of Charity home, Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza and media reports said.