The Archbishop of the city presided at Mass at 6 o'clock this morning. Dozens of priests of the Corpus Christi movement concelebrated. Sister Mary Prema's prayer before the tomb of the Mother, a place of pilgrimage for Christians and non-Christians.
Calcutta (AsiaNews) - On the day of the liturgical feast of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Mother's "family" gathered for a Mass in her honor and for a prayer in front of her tomb, in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity.
At 6 am this morning, the Archbishop of the city, Msgr. Thomas D'Souza presided over the Eucharist, at which more than 30 priests of the Corpus Christi movement, an international organization founded by Mother Teresa for the sanctification of priests, concelebrated.
Later, with the priests and faithful gathered around the tomb of the Mother, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Mary Prema, emphasized the value of being "family":
"The poor, unloved, unwanted have no family, but God choose us to be a Family to them. All the Missionaries of Charity, sisters brothers, fathers are called to belong to a family and to be a Family to the poorest of the poor.
" We are each called - she continued - to share the love of God through the joyful spirit of the Mother".
Sister Prema then lit five candles on the tomb of Mother Teresa, as a sign of the five branches of the Missionaries and Missionaries of Charity, who work together as one family: sisters, priests, brothers, lay volunteers, sick people.
From the day of her death, on September 5, 1997, and after the state funeral granted to her, Mother Teresa's tomb has been a destination for world pilgrimages, by Christians, but also by people of other religions.
Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa at the end of the Year of Mercy on September 4, 2016. But for most of the people who knew her, she was already a saint when she was alive.
(Photo Credit: Fr Dominic Gomes, PRO, Archdiocese of Kolkata)