Whole World Readies for Mother Teresa's 100th Birthday

(August 21, 2010) Mother Teresa of Calcutta would have turned 100 years old next Thursday. The order she founded Missionaries of Charity, as well as faithful and nonbelievers from around the world are joining in preparation for the anniversary. "Her life and work continue to be an inspiration for young and old, rich and poor from all walks of life, religions and nations," wrote Sister Mary Prema, the superior-general of the Missionaries of Charity. She recommended the celebration to be sharing the joy of loving and being loved. A new book, "Where There Is Love, There Is God," with writings from Blessed Teresa will be released. A Mother Teresa postage stamp will go on sale in the United States on Thursday, with similar initiatives in Austria, Kosovo and Monoco. France has coined four collector-edition coins, one showing Mother Teresa with Pope John Paul II. The Mother Teresa Express Train will be launched on her birthday in India; and on the Niagara River in New York, the Peace Bridge will be lit with blue and white, the colours of the Missionaries of Charity. Obviously a range of spiritual activities will also mark the day. In Rome, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, will preside over a Mass in the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damascus. The celebration will be preceded by the opening of an exhibition of photographs, titled Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: Life, Works, and Message. Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation of Peoples, will mark her liturgical feast: There will be a vigil of prayer on Saturday, Sept. 4, and a Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, September 5. The relics of the Saint will be kept for veneration in United States and Canada