Sixty-three year-old Vilma Mais, who spent most of her life doing charity work for her church, died yesterday after she was stabbed by a thief at Stella Maris Church where she had gone to pray.

According to Father Michael Lewis, rector of the Roman Catholic Stella Maris, which sits in one of the capital’s more affluent neighbourhoods, the incident took place at the church’s Pastoral Centre at about 1:10 pm.

“I was at my office when I was called and told that Mrs Mais had been attacked,” he told the Observer last night. “When I got there, she was lying on the floor with one of the Sisters kneeling over her, applying pressure to her neck. We called the police.”

Father Lewis said Mais was stabbed in her neck, as well as other sections of her body. He said that when he got to her she was still breathing, so they wrapped her in a blanket and continued to apply pressure to her wounds until the police arrived.

“The police came, I put her in my lap in the police car and we took her to the (University) hospital,” Father Lewis said with tears in his eyes. He was wearing a white bush jacket and a pair of khaki pants both soiled with her blood.

“The accident and emergency team tried to revive her,” he said, “but because of the amount of blood she lost and the nature of her wounds she died.”

Mais, a mother of three girls and wife of attorney-at-law Peter Mais, was a housewife who spent most of her time taking care of her family and volunteering her time at church.

Her brutal murder on International Women’s Day comes just five days after the stabbing death of Jordano Flemmings, a 15 year-old student of Mona High School.

Flemmings was killed by a thief on Bougainvillea Drive, Mona, near his home.

Yesterday, Father Lewis spoke of Mais’ charity work. “She goes to the prison to visit the inmates every week,” he told the Observer. “She did not see the people she went to care for as any less than herself. What she saw was a child of God who was in need of help. She backed up her word with the way she lived her life.”

Last night, the church held a Mass at 7:30 for the Mais family. She was remembered by many as a remarkable woman with strong Christian values.

“She was a wonderful woman who was dedicated to her church,” a family friend told the Observer. “I can’t believe she was stabbed in the Pastoral Centre.”

Yesterday, teary-eyed, grief-stricken family friends and well-wishers converged on the church grounds, embracing each other. Some wept openly.

“She was a very selfless woman,” said one of her sons-in-law. “She would give you everything she had if you asked her for it.”

During the mass, the bereaved family sat at the front of the church and was greeted by a number of well-wishers. Father Lewis also offered a word of encouragement to the family, especially Peter Mais, whom he said prayed for tolerance, forgiveness and love.

Father Lewis also encourage the congregation to forgive.