Today (30 April), the Church celebrates the life and ministry of Pandita Mary Ramabai.

Mary Ramabai was born in 1858, the daughter of a Sanscrit scholar who believed in educating women.

Converting to Christianity, she nevertheless remained loyal to many aspects of her Hindu background, pioneering an Indian vision of the faith.

She became well known as a lecturer on social questions, and was the first woman to be awarded the title ‘Pandita’ (which means scholar or master of the five sciences; the feminine version of the word Pundit).

She spent many years working for the education of women and orphans, founding schools and homes. Personally, she lived in great simplicity and was a prominent opponent of the caste system and child marriage.

She died on this day in 1922.