Mother's 10th death anniversary observed

Kolkata, Sep 5: Saint of the Gutter- Mother Teresa- was remembered by the people, who found home and food at her house, on her 10th death anniversary today.

The main function was held at Mother's house in Central Kolkata, where the inmates, nuns and people from walks of life assembled and remmembered her legacy with weeping.

Missionaries of Charity's Superior General Sister Nirmala said Mother was rembered for her love for the people of this city.

All India Minority Forum and Satya Seva Bhavan, an NGO, jointly organised an all faiths prayer meeting at Mother's House.

A seminar on 'National Integrity' was also organised to pay homage to Mother.

Forum president Idrish Ali said Mother was symbol of national intergrity and she had served the poverty-stricken people throughout her life.

Children also offered flowers and prayed for her soul. People of different beliefs participated in this programme.

Declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II in October 2003, Mother Teresa had set an example of Christian services for the poor and underprivilege people.

Speaking about her life, Sister Nirmala said Mother was born in Kosovo in 1910. She was named Agnes Bojaxhiu when she was baptized.

In her adolescence, Agnes felt God's call to missionary work in India through Jesuit missionaries, who talked in her school and church about the suffering and poverty of millions in India.

When she was only 18 years old, Agnes joined a community of sisters who worked as missionaries in India. In keeping with the religious custom of that time, Agnes received a new name, Teresa, when she professed her vows as a religious sister, she added.

After her initial education and training as a religious sister, Sister Teresa worked for 18 years, teaching at a Catholic school for girls established by her religious community in India.

Missionaries of Charity Supremo said Mother Teresa believed that the path to true happiness was the path of selfless love for poor. In her reflections on prayer, Mother Teresa wrote, "When things become our masters, we are very poor."

UNI