The new road was inaugurated on the day of the canonization of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. The chief minister paid homage to her and recalled that she "chose India as her home, to serve the poor and the afflicted." Msgr. Barwa: "She was the woman of the woman."
Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) - The chief minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the street in Bhubaneshwar that bears the name of the Saint of Calcutta. The head of the state government said that from now on the road, which runs right in front of the Archbishop’s house, will be known as "Saint Mother Teresa Road".
The opening ceremony took place on September 4, to coincide with the canonization of Mother Teresa at the Vatican. The initiative was promoted by Msgr. John Barwa, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, who asked the state authorities to recognize a street named after the Saint precisely in the Indian State that was home to the fiercest theater massacre against Christians.
The chief minister paid a "sincere tribute to Mother Teresa" and recalled that the nun of Albanian origin arrived in India in 1929 and chose "this country as her home to serve the poor, the needy and the dead." "It is time for all of us - she continued - to take a page from her book of compassion and serve the poor and the afflicted. We work together for the dignity of every human being and every person around us”.
Mother Teresa visited Bhubaneshwar for the first time in 1974. She later returned many times and the Missionaries of Charity now house the needy in 18 houses.
Msgr. Barwa reported episodes in the life of the Saint of Calcutta, and has defined it as "the century of the woman."