Kolkata remembers Mother Teresa ahead of her tenth death anniversary

Special prayers and a feast for the poor and needy are being held here to commemorate Mother Teresa tenth death anniversary in Kolkata today.

Kolkata, Sep 1 : Special prayers and a feast for the poor and needy are being held here to commemorate Mother Teresa tenth death anniversary in Kolkata today.

After the beatification of Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic Church had declared September 5, the day Mother left her earthly abode, as Feast Day - a day for joy and celebration.

However, nuns and co-workers of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, gathered to offer prayers and flowers to the 'Saint of Gutters' as they observed the day ahead of the actual date of her death anniversary.

"The co-workers of Mother Teresa come to different houses of kolkata, and want to feed the poorest of the poor, especially the orphan children. Usually it is September 5, but it is not possible because we have many other programmes so, they decided to have it today said, Sister M. Adrian, a nun of the Missionaries of Charity.

Asha Mondal, a co-worker of the Missionaries of Charity, said, "Today is our Mothers feast day and we like coming here and helping. So all the co-workers come here and prepare food for the poor people and outsiders."

Albanian born Mother Teresa made Kolkata her home and dedicated her life to the service of poor and destitute children.

The Pope beatified the Nobel laureat in October 2003, paving the way for her canonisation, or being declared a saint.

She qualified for beatification after Vatican officials acknowledged that she was responsible for a miracle in which an Indian woman was cured of stomach cancer through her intervention.

Mother Teresa, who died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87, was popularly known as the "Saint of the Gutter" for her extraordinary love and dedication to poor, homeless and diseased people.

She came to India in 1929 at the age of 18 and took up teaching and became an Indian citizen in 1948.

The nun started working in slums and later set up her Missionaries of Charity, which was approved by the Vatican in 1950.

The organisation now runs over 500 charity homes in over 100 countries.

Mother Teresa received several national and international awards for social service during her lifetime. They include the Magsaysay Award in 1962, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the John F. Kennedy International Award in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

ANI