UN names charity day in honor of Blessed Teresa

September 5, 2013: In recognition of the role of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human ‎suffering within and among nations, as well as of the efforts of charitable organizations ‎and individuals, including the work of Mother Teresa, the General Assembly of the ‎United Nations in a resolution has designated the 5th of September, the ‎anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.‎

On this International Day of Charity, the United Nations invites all Member States and all international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, by encouraging charity, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.

Hundreds of people who gathered to observe the death anniversary of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata today also observed the UN’s first International Day of Charity designated to honor the Catholic nun.

"Those who want to please Mother Teresa on her feast day should emulate her charity first at home and then among the poor in the neighborhood," Sister Prema the head of the Missionaries of Charity said on Thursday in Kolkata.

She was speaking after a morning prayer program marking the 16th death anniversary of Blessed Teresa.
(source: UCAN + UN)