Today marks the 109th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, honoured in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, and an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
Born in a family of ethnic Albanians in Skopje in 1910, Teresa left her home at the age of 18 and later joined the 'Sisters of Loreto' located in Irelands's Rathfarnham.
She moved to India in the late 1920s and taught history and geography for 15 years at Calcutta's St Mary's High School.
A file photo of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. Reuters
In 1948, Teresa decided to leave the church and adopted a lifestyle in slums to aid the poor and the needy in the city.
In 1950, she laid the foundation stone of the Roman Catholic religious congregation which is now popularly known as the Missionaries of Charity.
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, but she refused to accept it and urged the jury to contribute the prize money of $192,000 to help the poor people of India.
In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis.
Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow — to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor".
Famous quotes by Mother Teresa:
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."
"Peace begins with a smile."
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
"There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those."
Celebrations all over the country:
Peace prayers were offered at the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata on Monday to pay tribute to Mother Teresa on her 109th birth anniversary. Scores of nuns gathered to offer prayer to the Nobel Prize winner by lighting candles at the flower-adorned grave.
"Mother was not concerned about the success, fame or power; she only belonged to Jesus. She served the poorest of the poor across the world and became the defender of the right to life for the unborn and challenged children, who were perceived as the burden to the society," a nun said in her eulogy.
In September 2017, Mother Teresa was declared Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta by the Vatican Pope for her selfless service towards helping the underprivileged and poor in Kolkata.
Celebrations will also be held at the Mother Teresa Ashram, in Shantinagar, in Bengaluru. The program will start from 5 pm, with chief guest MP Vijay Baghel, Dr RP Bindu and Dr Sandhya Madan Mohan in attendance. MLA Vidyaratan Bhasin will preside over the program. Social workers RN Pal, Ramesh Bharti, Prakash Gedam, KF Anthony, Umesh Kumar Sahu, Raj Atatya will also be present for the occasion, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar.
Prayers pour in on Twitter:
The Indian National Congress and its leaders, took to Twitter to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mother Teresa.
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier" - #MotherTeresa pic.twitter.com/D2JBDNZX08
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 26, 2019
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
Recipient of multiple honours including Nobel Peace Prize, #MotherTeresa 's life reminds us how our small acts have the ability to not just enrich our lives but the lives of others as well. pic.twitter.com/UkdCwJ7GAX
Remembering #MotherTeresa, who dedicated her life for serving the poor and destitute on her birth anniversary. She inspired all through her selfless service for welfare of mankind.
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 26, 2019
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) August 26, 2019
"A life not lived for others, is not a life!"
Remembering #MotherTeresa on her Birth Anniversary today 💐 pic.twitter.com/fbQM0uo8Ee
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 26, 2019
With inputs from ANI.
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