Mother Teresa’s selfless and untiring service to the poor of the poorest, orphaned and sick people on the streets of Kolkata will always be remembered by every Indian. With the canonisation of Mother Teresa as a saint, India now has eight saints of her own. They are — St. Gonsalo Garcia, St. Francis Xavier, St. Alphonsa, St. John de Britto, St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, St. Euphrasia Eluvathingal, St. Joseph Vaz and St. Mother Teresa. Blessed with profound empathy, unwavering commitment and unshakable faith since young, she turned her back to the worldly pleasures and focused on serving mankind ever since she was 18 years old.
After years of service as a teacher and mentor, she experienced a call within her religious call, which changed her course of life completely, making her what she is known as today. Who would’ve thought that a fragile nun from Albania could make it to India and care for the naked, the disabled and the diseased? Mother Teresa has made India proud by showing and proving to the world what one person’s mission can achieve. She was born in 1910 and came to India in 1929. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, which is still active today even after her death in over 136 countries.
The members of her congregation run homes for people, irrespective of caste, creed, colour or religion, dying of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy. India has honoured this messenger of Christ with the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna in 1980, besides other awards prior to that. One year prior to her death, the world honoured her with the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, because of the Missionaries of Charity, many new born babies who are abandoned by their parents and left on the streets to die are seeing the light of the day.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
