Pilgrims from different parts of India — as well as non-Christian devotees of the saint — carried flowers and bouquets while others bowed their heads beneath the hand of the bronze statue of Mother for her “blessing.”
“We are happy to come here today to express our love and respect for Mother,” Mohammad Farooque, a martial arts professional who led half a dozen Muslim friends to Mother Teresa’s tomb, told CNA.
“The lesson of love Mother taught cannot be forgotten,” said 27-year-old Farooque, who came with the karate team that will participate in a global meet in Thailand in September.
“We need the blessings of Mother for success. Our [karate association] founder has been organizing a peace rally every year on Mother’s death anniversary,” he said.
After the celebration at the tomb, the action moved to the archbishop’s house — fewer than two miles away from the motherhouse — where D’Souza placed a garland on a life-sized bronze statue of Mother Teresa, patroness of the archdiocese.
The Catholic Association Bengal, as it has done in previous years, organized a public event where people could pay homage to Mother Teresa at the junction in front of the Allen Park gate. In addition to the Catholics present, dignitaries from diverse religious backgrounds as well as politicians and artists paid tribute to the saint with rose petals before her portrait, which is kept underneath a permanent statue of the saint installed there.
Until late evening, Mother Teresa’s tomb, located in a chapel formerly used as a refectory at the motherhouse until the saint’s burial there in 1997, was packed with devotees in prayer along with Missionaries of Charity nuns and novices.
Anto Akkara is a journalist writing from Bangalore, India. He is a regular correspondent with the National Catholic Register.