Mother Teresa’s 14^th death anniversary observed by Catholics and non catholics

(Sept. 07, 2011) To commemorate the 14^th death anniversary of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, eastern India, a holy Mass was said on Monday morning , 5th September in the chapel of the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Hindu, Muslim and Jain religious leaders also gathered on Monday to pray around her grave at the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity. The topic of the service was “Love, as I have loved”. Thousands of people from all ranks of life, visited the grave and laid flowers to honour the nun, who was beatified by Bl. Pope John Paul II on October 2003. Prayer ceremonies and exhibits were also held in many parts of India A weeklong exhibit on the life and deeds of Mother Teresa concluded on Monday in Ernakulam, Kerala. The same day, the Argentinean football team which was in India for a match against Venezuela, visited Mother Teresa’s grave to pay tribute to her. Tributes were also paid by many others to the nun, who worked for the poorest of the poor. Fr Cedric Prakash, director of Prashant, a Jesuit centre for human rights, justice and peace based in Ahmendabad, Gujerat, said “Mother Teresa represents a challenge for each of us. Her work is a lesson that can be used in the fight against corruption. India needs the values Mother Teresa stood for and nurtured throughout her life. People should learn from her that the poor and the needy deserve a dignified life, ” Fr Prakash said.
Khaligat’s Nirmal Hriday is the first hospice Mother Teresa opened in 1952 to look after the dying left in the streets of Kolkata Sr. Alex, one of the Missionaries of Charity said “In this house the poor and the sick died with dignity, knowing that in
the last moments of their life, they were loved”.