India: Mother Teresa’s 115th Birth Anniversary Celebrated in Kolkata

The 115th birth anniversary of Saint Mother Teresa was celebrated on August 26 at Mother’s House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, easter India.

Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta presided over the thanksgiving Mass, concelebrated by Coadjutor Archbishop Elias Frank and several priests, with the participation of Missionaries of Charity nuns and the faithful.

In his homily, Archbishop D’Souza praised the life and mission of Mother Teresa, emphasizing that everyone is called to emulate her by promoting life at all stages.

After the Mass, the archbishops, priests, and sisters lit candles and prayed at the tomb of Mother Teresa.

With Vatican approval in October 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata to care for the “poorest of the poor,” regardless of religion, caste, or background. Since then, the congregation has expanded worldwide, serving orphans, abandoned children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and refugees, while also responding to natural disasters such as floods and epidemics.

Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her service to the poor. She also received other prestigious awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize in 1962 and India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.

She died in 1997 and was given a state funeral by the Indian government. Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, and canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016, at the Vatican.