The mother becomes the saint

Mother Teresa will be canonised by the Catholic Church in the Vatican on September 4 bringing joy to many

Mother Teresa will be canonised by the Catholic Church in a week-long grand ceremony in the Vatican on the first Sunday in September. A contingent of nuns, priests, volunteers, followers, academics and government officials from India will be in attendance to witness the historic event that will formally elevate the “saint of the gutters”, as Mother Teresa is famously known, to Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

When the canonisation mass begins at the iconic St Peters Square, nuns and novices of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity as well as their followers will catch the service through live streaming at Mother’s Home, the headquarters of the humanitarian network initiated by Mother Teresa.

These days, there is palpable enthusiasm in the air at Mother’s Home although the nuns, dressed in the typical white sari with blue striped border, continue to follow their tranquil daily routine of silent prayers and service to the poor. The ordained women, in fact, pray to the Mother to give them the strength to carry on her work. “Much before the beatification by the Church, we have been praying to the Mother.

She is revered by the nuns as well as the visitors coming to the Home. Her statue has been placed at the entrance and most stop before it to say their prayers,” explains Sister Ita MC, who joined the Missionaries of Charity two decades back when she came to India from Indiana in the United States.

People walk into the hallowed premises of the Mother’s Home to pray, volunteer, seek spiritual guidance and counselling; many come looking for financial aid and medical support. And the nuns are there to provide support and solace. “The spirit of giving and reaching out to those in need hasn’t changed. We are keeping Mother’s legacy and philosophy alive,” shares Sister Blasilla MC.

Margret Frank, a school teacher, is one of the many for whom praying to the Mother for compassion and the courage to face challenges – qualities she lived by and practiced in her lifetime – is a morning ritual. “I have deep faith in her and my prayers have always been answered. I truly believe that she has great healing powers,” she says.

Bess and Ana, too, are presently in the city all the way from Kerala to mark the big day. One of the two sisters was adopted from Shishu Bhawan, the children’s home of the Missionaries of Charity, and they are here with their mother Kavita. “She has always been a saint for us. It was encouragement from her that motivated to me to speak to my family about adopting a girl,” reveals the older woman.

On way to the grotto of Mother Mary in the Mother’s Home it is customary to pay respects at Mother Teresa’s statue on the ground floor – there’s always a small crowd of outsiders gathered here. Sitting on the benches nearby are the novices, easily identifiable by their white saris, who wait for their turn to receive “blessings” as they get ready to spend another day in theological studies.

Flanking the statue are relics of the Mother that the pilgrims are eager to touch to “sanctify themselves”; there’s also a locked box in which children drop chits of paper with their special prayers and wishes penned down. Sister Felomina MC from Simdega in Jharkhand, an elderly nun of the Missionaries, who joined the order at the call of Mother Teresa, says, “For us she has always been saintly. She had special powers that motivated, directed and blessed restless souls.”

While the devout honour her with prayers and stories about her “miracles”, acclaimed photographer Kounteya Sinha, along with a group of young Kolkatans, has attempted to capture the true spirit of the city that inspired a young Agnes Gonxha (as Mother Teresa was known before she took her vows) from Albania to stay on and make it her home. This initiative is part of the crowd funded Sainthood Project under which streets of Rome will be turned into an open air gallery showcasing the different facets of Kolkata to the crowds coming in for the canonisation.

Significantly, Sinha's camera has consciously looked beyond the impoverishment and squalor that envelope the city and instead concentrated on highlighting its beauty and heritage. Srijita Deb Burman, 25, who is associated with the Sainthood Project, says, “This is our way of paying tribute to Mother Teresa. The images that we are showing depict the real character of Kolkata that must have attracted Mother to the city.”

There are several other academics, priests, students and artists who are holding seminars, exhibitions and prayer meetings across the city to spread “Mother Teresa’s philosophy and humanity”. Noted city artist Sunita Kumar, who is an ardent follower of the Mother, has made “several new paintings depicting her ideology”. A practicing Sikh, she volunteers with the Missionaries of Charity, and vividly recounts several miracles of the Mother. “She remains the face of extreme penance and sacrifice all across the world,” she remarks.

As the Mother becomes the Saint, a cathedral in Baruipur, near Kolkata, will become the first official church where followers will be able to officially offer prayers in the name of their beloved saint. Additionally, the city’s landmark Park Street area, where a statue of Mother Teresa serenely looks over the milling crowds, has now been renamed Mother Teresa Sarani in her honour.

Indeed, the woman who traded the habit for the sari as her choice of attire and who chose to work with the poorest of the poor in India has fans as well as critics across the social spectrum. Yet, her admirers far outnumber the skeptics. “That is because her work and ideology, rooted in human values and rights, have a universal appeal. Be it Christians or people practising other faiths, Mother Teresa is an icon for everyone.

For me, it’s her capacity to bring everyone together that makes her a saint,” says Aarti Kumari, a regular visitor to Mother’s Home, who comes seeking counsel from the nuns on family issues. Mitali Basak, a homemaker, adds, “I have observed Mother Teresa from close quarters for most years of my life and I feel blessed to have seen a saint in real life.”