Kolkata: Heartfelt tributes paid to Mother Teresa on her 112th birth anniversary
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Kolkata: Missionaries of Charity, a Kolkata-based congregation, on Friday offered prayers in the memory of its founder Mother Teresa on her 112th birth anniversary.
The Sisters of Mother House offered prayers by singing hymns in the memory of Saint Mother Teresa near her tomb.
Archbishop Thomas D’Souza, serving on the occasion, said, “It is a celebration of a great man, and her every birthday is a day of inspiration and celebration for everyone’s life. It is like a gift to life and this life is given to us because So that we can give gifts to others and show our respect for the charitable work of Mother Teresa.”
“Pope Francis said that just as rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruit, the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the law of nature and Mother Teresa lived a similar philanthropic life devoted not to herself but to others. She lived to protect and promote the lives of the poor, so it is a celebration of living life for God and for others,” he said.
James, a visitor from Spain to celebrate the celebration, said, “We are really happy to be here because we are celebrating our mother’s birthday. I have been looking up to her as my role model since childhood. Well, we have the whole There are missionaries in the world, but being here is a different kind of joy.”
Who was Mother Teresa
Born in Skopje in 1910 to an ethnic Albanian family, Teresa left her home at the age of 18 and later joined the Sisters of Loreto in Rathfarnham, Ireland. Mother Teresa, whose real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, immigrated to India in the late 1920s and taught history and geography for 15 long years at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta.
In 1948, Teresa decided to leave the church and adopted a slum lifestyle to help the poor and needy in Kolkata. In 1950, she laid the foundation stone of the Roman Catholic religious congregation, now known as the Missionaries of Charity. She did remarkable work in the service and healing of leprosy patients.
Nobel Prize
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She urged the jury to contribute the prize money of USD 192,000 to help the poor people of India.
Sainthood
In September 2017, Mother Teresa was declared the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta by the Vatican Pope for her selfless service to helping the underprivileged and poor in Kolkata.
Mother Teresa’s death
Teresa, who died in 1997 at the age of 87, was granted a state funeral by the central government in honor of her services to the poor across the country.