Kolkata, August 26 (UNI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday paid homage to Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta) on her birth anniversary.
Taking to her social media page, Ms Banerjee said, “Homage to Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta) on her birth anniversary.”
“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love,” she added.
Missionaries of Charity here in the city offered prayers in memory of its founder Mother Teresa on her 111th birth anniversary.
Born on August 26, 1910, Mother Teresa is known for her selfless service towards the poor and underprivileged. She has been loved and respected by people worldwide.
Teresa arrived in India in 1929 and began her novitiate in Darjeeling, in the lower Himalayas, where she learned Bengali and taught at St. Teresa’s School near her convent.
Teresa took her first religious vows on May 24, 1931. She chose to be named after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries; because a nun in the convent had already chosen that name, she opted for its Spanish spelling (Teresa).
She began missionary work with the poor in 1948, replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple, white cotton sari with a blue border.
Teresa adopted Indian citizenship, spent several months in Patna to receive basic medical training at Holy Family Hospital and ventured into the slums. She founded a school in Motijhil, Kolkata, before she began tending to the poor and hungry.
At the beginning of 1949 Teresa was joined in her effort by a group of young women, and she laid the foundation for a new religious community helping the “poorest among the poor”.
Teresa received a number of honors, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.
