Catholic World News News Feature

India mourns Mother Teresa September 08, 1997

by Anto Akkara

Tributes continue to pour in on the death of 87-year old Mother Teresa, founder of Missionaries of Charity (MC) who passed away in Calcutta on Friday night after suffering massive heart attack.

"She complained of chest pain and everything was over within in an hour. The Mother passed away at 9.30 p.m. (GMT 4 p.m.) at the Mother House (of the MC congregation)," said Sunita Kumar, a spokesman for the congregation.

Since Friday, glowing tributes to the nun have poured in from the entire range of humanity, from the Holy Father to the ordinary citizens of Calcutta. One of the most fitting tributes to the Mother came from the leader of the Indian National Congress party, Sitaram Kesari, who said "the World and especially India is poorer by her passing away. Humanity has lost its Mother."

Describing Mother Teresa as the "shining star of the Catholic Church," Archbishop Joseph Powathil-- who doubles as president of the Indian bishops' conference-- said she was "a true witness to Christ" who "combined devotion and service in exemplary way."

India's federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, passed a resolution Saturday hailing Mother Teresa's "yeoman service to the poorest of the poor with humility, love and compassion."

"Her life was devoted to bringing love, peace and joy to the people whom the world generally shunned. In her passing away, India has lost one of the greatest social workers of all time," said the federal government in its condolence message.

Disregarding protocol, the government announced that the Albanian- born nun who had been honored with "Bharat Ratna" ("Jewel of India" - India's highest honor) in 1980 will be given a state funeral. Moreover, contrary to the recent recommendation that public holidays should be declared only on the death of incumbent prime minister or president, the government has declared a national holiday on September 13, the day of funeral.

"India will miss its Mother. Its people feel orphaned," proclaimed the All India Catholic Union (AICU) in a statement which summed up the feeling of the nation of country's 960 million people, especially the 21 million Christians. The party statement added Mother Teresa "made India her home and gave the country and its people deeply of her love, a love that the people of India from all parts of the country returned in ample measure."

She came to India in 1929 as an 18-year-old Loreto nun: Sister Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu. Two years later, Sister Teresa started teaching at Calcutta's St. Mary's School until she set off in 1950 for her life among the "poorest of the poor" by founding the Missionaries of Charity Congregation-- an order now easily recognized by its blue- striped white cotton sari. Over the years, Mother Teresa's unique charity work in Calcutta's shanty slums and streets went beyond India and now extends to 562 "tabernacles" in 126 countries with over 4,600 nuns.

Describing the Mother's life as a "living testimony to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Indian Catholic lay network said "Mother Teresa's message of Love and to "giving till it hurts" brought hope and succor to millions. She stood as a moral beacon in this age of violence and internecine wars. In serving the poor and in giving the destitute the opportunity of living their last moments in human dignity, the Mother showed to the world how important the most humble person of the world was in God's scheme of Life."

Recalling his encounters with the Mother from late 1940s, Archbishop Alan Basil de Lastic of Delhi said she used to come to his parish church for daily Mass when he was aspiring to the priesthood. Later in the 1960s, the archbishop recounted that "Mother used to send (orphan) boys to the orphanage where I was the director" as a priest of Calcutta archdiocese.

"I am an orphan. I have lost my mother. She was Mother to me for 35 years. Don't ask me anything more," one woman told CWN with tearful eyes when CWN asked about her feelings. Meanwhile, another middle aged woman in could be heard wailing loud on the shoulders of her husband. CWN learned that she too was an orphan picked up from street and brought up by the Missionaries of Charity.

The death of Mother Teresa has led to extraordinary coverage in the media. Indian Express, the English daily, dedicated more than 90 percent of its front page ton Saturday to the story, although news of her death came only late Friday night. The Times of India-- the country's largest English-language paper, said:

Mother Teresa was among the most ecumenical figures that this country or any other country has produced. The simple white, blue bordered sari that she and her co-workers donned as their habit was symbolic of an all-enfolding eclecticism which has always been the quintessence of true Indian-ness.

Since Mother Teresa has been in precarious health for over a year, her death did not come as a shock for the Missionaries of Charity. "Yet the feeling of missing the Mother for good is very much in everyone's mind," one of the sisters told CWN. At the MC homes across India, almost every nun has a desire to have a last look of the Mother. But given the austerity and simplicity that are the hallmark of MC religious life, that wish will remain unfulfilled for many of the nuns who are unable to travel to Calcutta. Superiors in the order have told many nuns that they will be unable to provide travel arrangements. However, some convents will be provided with television sets for the weekend, so that the nuns will be able at least to watch Mother Teresa's funeral.