World remembers Mother Theresa

2001-09-05 12:04

Calcutta - Thousands of people on Wednesday paid tribute to Mother Teresa on the fourth anniversary of her death by visiting the headquarters of the order she founded in the Indian city of Calcutta.

Men, women and children thronged the Missionaries of Charity centre to place flowers and garlands on her tomb.

A life-size bronze statue of Mother Teresa was also decorated with the flowers, bouquets and garlands brought by her admirers and well-wishers.

Mother Teresa was born in 1910 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Skopje - now in Macedonia - of Albanian parents and died on September 5, 1997 at the Mother House in Calcutta.

She set up the Missionaries of Charity order in Calcutta in 1950 and lived a life that has been held up as a model of Christian service.

Her work among the poor and dying in Calcutta and around the world won her a Nobel prize and millions of admirers.

A two-year-long diocesan inquiry into the life of Mother Teresa, the first step towards her beatification and canonization, was completed last month.

A special prayer ceremony was organised on Wednesday morning in which the public joined nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Christe said.

The inmates of Shishu Bhavan, an orphanage for children, and Nirmal Hriday, a home for the aged, both set up by Mother Teresa, remembered her through special prayers and hymns.

A delegation from the Calcutta-based All India Peace Council organised a prayer meeting for all religions as well as a discussion on Mother Teresa's life and work.

Paying tribute to the Mother, Idris Ali, vice president of the All India Peace Council said: "Mother Teresa is an unique example of communal harmony, a person devoted to the development of the humanity."

Small statues of Mother Teresa were also on sale in the city, residents said.

- SAPA