Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Mother Teresa remembered on 12th anniversary of death

Reuters Sat Sep 5, 1:53 AM ET
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A Catholic nun from the Missionaries of Charity, the global order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa, lights a candle on the tomb of Teresa, during a prayer meeting on the occasion of Teresa's 12th death anniversary in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata September 5, 2009. Mother Teresa was a Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun who died in 1997, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003 at the Vatican.
REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA RELIGION OBITUARY)

» 09/05/2009 11:45
INDIA

Christians, Hindus and Muslims remember Mother Teresa, a woman of "Charity in Truth"

by Nirmala Carvalho

Celebrations throughout the country for the 12th anniversary of the death of the blessed. People of different religions visit to her grave. For Father Prakash, a Jesuit priest, the heart of the last Papal encyclical is realised in Mother Teresa: "It is the charity of Christ that impels us".

Kolkata (AsiaNews) - Twelve years after her death, India remembers Mother Teresa of Calcutta with celebrations, Masses and public events. Politicians and out-castes, men and women, Christians, Hindus and Muslims in these hours are paying homage to the Blessed.

In Calcutta, in the house of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, hundreds of people attended Mass celebrated by Bishop Lucas Sirkar, archbishop of the capital of West Bengal at 6 am. Groups of Catholics, Muslims and Hindus are visiting the tomb of the Blessed whom bishop likened to the Virgin Mary for her 'yes' to Christ.

In Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, hundreds of people attended a prayer service at the "garden of Mother Teresa" where the government erected a bronze statue of the Blessed in 2005. Leading the celebration Msgr. Macwan Thomas, bishop of the city, and captain Dilip Mahajan, municipal councillor. Gujarat has long been the scene of Hindu violence against Muslims and Christians, sometimes, endorsed and supported by the government itself.

Fr. Cedric Prakash, director of Prashant, a Jesuit Human Rights organization, tells AsiaNews: "It is significant that, despite the fact that the State Government implements a very hostile policy towards minorities, there is a public place dedicated to Mother Teresa in Ahmedabad. Few cities in the country can claim this privilege”.
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The Times of India

Mother Teresa's death anniversary observed
PTI 5 September 2009, 04:47pm IST


Catholic nuns from Missionaries of Charity attend a prayer meeting on the occasion of Mother Teresa's 12th death anniversary in Kolkata.(Reuters Photo)
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KOLKATA: The Missionaries of Charity world-wide on Saturday observed the 12th death anniversary of its founder Mother Teresa and began preparations for her birth centenary next year.

"A week ago, we began the preparation for celebration of Mother Teresa's birth centenary next year. Today, we commemorate the 12th anniversary of her death. The heroic sanctity of her life assures us that her death on earth meant her birth in heaven," the order's superior-general Sr Prema, who is abroad, said in a statement.

The Nobel-laureate nun was fast-tracked to sainthood by Pope John Paul-II after her death in 1997. She was 'beatified' (declared blessed) by the Pope in a ceremony at the Vatican on October 19, 2003, on the basis of claims by a tribal woman in North Bengal that she was cured of a stomach tumour after praying to her.

Teresa's beatification allows her to be venerated in MoC churches the world over. She will be worshipped in all the Roman Catholic churches if declared a saint, for which proof of another miracle of a medical nature is required.

Sr Prema's statement, read out by MoC assistant superior-general Sr Carol, did not indicate the progress of Mother's sainthood formalities, but said, "as much as we miss our Mother, we rejoice that we have her as a friend and intercessor in Heaven, close to God."

See also from newKerala.com, "Mother Teresa remembered on her death anniversary."

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:23 PM