Prayers offered on Mother Teresa's 25th death anniversary in Kolkata

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 5 (ANI): Special prayers were held at The Mother house of The Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata on Mother Teresa's 25th death anniversary.

"Mother has gone away but Mother continues to live. Mother died and yet she is alive through the work of Missionaries of charity. What she began still continues with same zeal and same fervor with which we pour our self, "Archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D Souza told ANI on Monday.

He said, "Her legacy continues, support one another as Mother has given us the example, help the poor in our locality, wherever possible, even one person, try and lift them up. Start with individual and reach out too many more. Let the work of love continue. "

Sister Mary Joseph (Superior General of Missionaries OF Charity) said, "Mother Teresa was truly the mother to the old and the young, the rich and the poor. Great politicians and world leaders sought her warm and nurturing Motherhood. She was a mother to the Hindu and the Muslims and Christians in all walks of life."

Born in a family of ethnic Albanians in Skopje in 1910, Teresa left her home at the age of 18 and later joined the 'Sisters of Loreto' located in Ireland's Rathfarnham.

Mother Teresa, whose actual name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, moved to India in the late 1920s and taught history and geography for 15 long years at Calcutta's St Mary's High School.

In 1948, Teresa decided to leave the church and adopted a lifestyle in slums to aid the poor and the needy in Kolkata.

In 1950, she laid the foundation stone of the Roman Catholic religious congregation which is now popularly known as the Missionaries of Charity.

Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She urged the jury to contribute the prize money of USD 192,000 for helping the poor people of India.

In September 2017, Mother Teresa was declared Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta by the Vatican Pope for her selfless service towards helping the underprivileged and poor in Kolkata.

Teresa, who died in 1997 at the age of 87, was granted a state funeral by the central government in recognition of her services to the poor across the country. (ANI)

Source: National