Mother Teresa remembered on her 15th death anniversary

Kolkata: Special prayers were held at the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata today to mark Mother Teresa`s 15th death anniversary.

Prayers and floral tributes were offered at the grave of the Mother. The Superior General of Missionaries of Charity, Sister Prema, said we are celebrating the Feast Day and the going home of Mother to Jesus. "Today we keep the Feast Day for Mother Teresa. Since the church declared her blessed, we are celebrating this joy together with all our Missionaries of charity family. It is also the 15th anniversary of the going home of Mother to Jesus, as she called it, when she spoke about death," said Sister Prema. After the beatification of Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic Church had declared September 5, the day Mother left her earthly abode, as Feast Day - a day for joy and celebration. Albanian born Mother Teresa made Kolkata her home and dedicated her life to the service of poor and destitute children. The Pope beatified the Nobel laureate in October 2003, paving the way for her canonisation, or being declared a saint. She qualified for beatification after Vatican officials acknowledged that she was responsible for a miracle in which an Indian woman was cured of stomach cancer through her intervention. She came to India in 1929 at the age of 18 and took up teaching and became an Indian citizen in 1948. She started working in slums and later set up her Missionaries of Charity, which was approved by the Vatican in 1950. Mother Teresa received several national and international awards for social service during her lifetime. They include the Magsaysay Award in 1962, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the John F. Kennedy International Award in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. ANI