Honouring Prominent Saints and Temples of India
She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 26th August 1910 in Uzkub, Ottoman Empire , which is presently called Skopje, in the Republic of Macedonia. Her family was of Albanian descent. On becoming a nun with the sisters of Loreto, (an Irish community of nuns with missions in India) she was named “Teresa” after Therese de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries.
She taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta from 1931 to 1948 and was appointed Headmistress of the School in 1944. The Bengal famine in 1943 and the misery and attendant poverty of the people, and the communal violence in 1946 had a profound effect on her.
On seeing the misery and suffering of the people, she made it her life’s mission to bring succour and relief to the poor and sick and in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Her zeal and commitment led her to gather a group of women to assist her in her work towards tending to the “poorest of the poor”. She replaced her traditional Loreto habit with a simple white cotton sari decorated with a blue border. This has become the traditional attire of the Sisters working with the “Missionaries of Charity.”
Because her mission initially concentrated on working for the poor in Kolkata, she even acquired an Indian citizenship. Mother Teresa was particularly impressed by the life and work of St. Francis of Assisi, because, like her, he had devoted his life towards selfless service of the poor and lepers. She, accordingly, patterned her mission’s work on the ideals that he stood for.
The initial phase of her work was very difficult and she worked without any funds and not much support for her work. Nevertheless, , she continued working towards her new “mission” and due to her persistence, the Vatican in October 1950 accorded her permission to start a diocesan congregation that was later called “Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. This group took upon itself to help the hungry, homeless, sick, blind, crippled, disabled, aged, victims of floods, famine and epidemics etc.
In 1952, she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into a place to tend to the terminally ill persons/patients, in course of time called the “Kalighat, Nirmal Hriday” (Home of the Pure Heart), where such persons were tended to and lived their last few days with care and dignity. Another home called “Shanti Nagar” (Town of peace) was opened by her along with several leprosy clinics. Later, in 1955 she opened the “Nirmala Shishu Bhavan” (Children’s Home of the Immaculate Heart) for providing shelter to orphans and homeless children and youth. Over the next decade, several hospices (a hospice is defined as a traveler’s house of rest kept by a religious order or a hospital for the terminally ill), orphanages, leper houses, shelters were opened across India and then the mission spread all over the World, in several countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.
Present Day:
The Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded in 1963, followed by several other branches/groups, including a Priest Branch, and by 2007 the missionaries of Charity was operating in more than 120 countries , having over 600 missions and managed by more than 450 brothers and 5000 nuns/sisters worldwide. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.
Apart from the Brothers and sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, today, more than a million co-workers are all engaged in carrying forward Mother Teresa’s vision of providing selfless service “to the poorest of the poor”. (Presently, the United Nations Organization has 193 members, with South Sudan becoming its latest member in mid-July 2011). In other words, the “missionaries of Charity” have missions spread across two-thirds of the countries forming the UNO and their number is still growing.
Awards and Recognition of her Work:
For the tremendous work done by her for tending to the poor and terminally ill persons, in India, Mother Teresa was awarded the Padma Shri, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding and “Bharat Ratna”, the highest civilian Award given by the Indian government.
She was also awarded several honours and prizes world-wide, including Pope John XXIII Peace prize, Ramon Magsaysay Award, Presidential Medal of freedom Award (USA), and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She refused to attend the conventional banquet given to Nobel Laureates, and requested instead that the funds earmarked for the occasion, be distributed among the poor in India.
She figured in the list of most admired men and women around the world, 18 times, in the yearly Gallup’s poll conducted in the USA.
Memorials and Beatification:
She passed away on 5 September 1997. She was granted a state funeral by the Indian Government in gratitude for her selfless services to the poor of all religions in India provided by her organization the “missionaries of Charity” for over 45 long years.
The Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity at Kolkata (Calcutta) has been converted into a major shrine. Albania’s International Airport has been named after her.
On 19th October 2003, she was beatified at the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome by Pope John Paul II and given the title “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” (Kolkata). For her canonization, at least two miracles are needed to be documented, which happened through her intercession. The first miracle which has passed the test of approval was the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, a “miracle “which in itself has been the subject of much controversy.
In this day and age of scientific and media scrutiny, it may be difficult for the Vatican to attribute another miracle to her for her possible canonization, without any difficulty. Nevertheless, the frail nun, who had come to India with only five rupees in her pocket and who selflessly transformed herself into a person tending to the “poorest of the poor” for the major part of her life, not only in India, but in almost two-third countries registered with the UNO, is miracle enough for all those who were benefitted by her life’s mission.
The above is a sketch of Mother Teresa by Sumita.
Mother Teresa Birth Centenary Commemoration:
In 2009, at the commencement of the centenary year of her birth the “Mother Teresa Memorial House” has been set up in her town of birth, Skorpe in the Republic of Macedonia. Several museums have memorialized her.
In 2010 on the 100th anniversary of her birth, she
was honoured around the world, and her work praised
by the President of India.
was honoured around the world, and her work praised
by the President of India.
In Aug 2010, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth, the Government of India issued a special cupro-nickel 5 Rupee coin, being the sum she first arrived in India with, for general circulation.
Obverse of the cupro-nickel five rupee coin shows the Lion Capital with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Always Prevails) which together forms the emblem/symbol of the Government of India. Below the emblem is the numeral “5” representing the denomination of the coin. On the left side are the words “Bharat” and “Rupiye” in Hindi and on the right periphery are the words “India” and “Rupees” in English.
Reverse of the above coin,showing the picture of Mother Teresa in the centre, with the inscription "Mother Teresa" both in Hindi and English, on the top and 'Janmashati' in Hindi and "Birth Centenary" in English below the picture.
On this occasion, another coin, in the denomination of 100 rupees, was issued as proof / uncirculated specimen. The India Government Mint, Kolkata which is now a unit of SPMCIL (Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd), recently put up a sale of commemorative coins sets in the denomination of Rs.100/- and Rs. 5/- , in both Proof and Uncirculated coin sets. I have indented for the two-coin proof set, which is expected to be delivered within the next four months. I will put up images of this coin set on this post on receiving the same from the Kolkata mint.
Posted on 15.11.11
Reverse of the above two Commemorative coins (Proof set) received from Kolkata mint today showing the image of Mother Teresa.
Obverse of the above coins in the denomination of Rs.100/- and Rs.5/-.
Specs. for Rs.100/- coin:
Shape and outside Diameter: Circular;44mm.
No. of serrations: 200
Weight: 35 gms.
Composition: Quaternary alloy (Silver - 50%;Copper -40%; Nickel and Zinc :5% each)
Specs. for Rs. 5/- coin:
Shape and outside diameter: Circular ;23 mm.
Weight: 6 gms.
Composition: Nickel Brass (Copper 75%; Zinc 20% ; Nickel 5%).
The cost of this Proof Commemorative coin set purchased from Kolkata mint was Rs.3800/- (plus Credit Card Payment Gateway charges).
Posted on 04.09.2016:
Finally, on 04.09.2016, Mother Terasa has been recognised as a Saint, by Pope Francis, at a ceremony held at the Vatican. The two miracles, necessary for being given a Sainthood attributed to her are:
-She cured a woman from Dangram village in West Bengal of abdominal tumour.
This miracle involved Monica Besra a Santhal woman from a South Dinajpur village, in whinh she tied Mother's Medallion around her stomach which rid her of the tumour. On Mother's first death anniversary on 05.09.1998, the Missionaries of Charity Sisters had announced a special mass. That evening, two Sisters tied a tiny aluminium medallion blessed by Mother around Besra's stomach. She dozed off and got up in the middle of the night. Her bed was next to a wall that had Mother's photograph and a clock. On touching her stomach, she was amazed to find that the tumour was gone.
-She cured a Brazilian man of eight brain abscesses that required an operation in 2008.
In December 2008, Marcilio Haddad Andrino was in a coma because of a viral brain infection , that resulted in multiple abscesses and an accumulation of fluid around the brain. Scheduled to undergo surgery at a hospital at Sao Paulo, he was fighting for his life.
On the eve of his operation, his wife Fernanda Rocha walked into the room of Father Elmiran Ferreira of the Parish of Our Lady of Aparecida in Sao Cicente and asked for help. The Catholic priest gave Fernanda a medal and prayer of Mother teeresa and asked her to pray to Mother. The next morning, all Marcilio's symptoms were gone.
The Department of Posts, India, has brought out a Rs. 50/- or 5000 Paise stamp on Mother Teresa being canonised as a Saint on 04.09.2016:
An image of the Souvenir Sheet issued on the occasion:
Posted on 07.09.2016:
The above is an image of the Souvenir Sheet framed, being retailed by the epostoffice, New Delhi.
The above is an image of the First Day Cover (FDC) with the Cancelled Souvenir Sheet bearing a New Delhi GPO Cancellation dated "04.09.2016".
The Rs.50/- or 5000 paise stamp issued on Saint Teresa. It is inscribed "Sant Udghoshna" (in Hindi) and "Saint Teresa" (in English). The date of canonization is mentioned as "04.09.2016".
The above is an image of the information brochure issued on the occasion.
The technical data for this issue is:
Issuer: Department of Posts, India or India Post
Denomination : 5000 Paise or Rs.50/-
No. of Souvenir Sheets printed: 0.4 million or 400,000
Printing Process: Wet Offset
Printer: Security Printing Press, Hyderabad
Links to other articles on coins issued on Prominent saints and temples of India:
1) 25 Years of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board
8) Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram
9) Swami Chinmayananda : Celebrating his Birth Centenary: A Rs.10/- coin issued by the Hyderabad Mint
10) Commemorating the Birth Centenary of Acharya Tulsi of Jainism by issuing a Rs.20/- coin
Other interesting posts on Christian Saints, Churches, priests and the Pope: 1) The inspiring story of Saint Teresa :
2) Saint Alphonsa: The first Catholic Woman Saint of India
3) Pope Francis: 80th Birthday on 17.12.2016: 6 Commemorative coins issued by Cook Islands
4) Christ Church Fort Teppakulam, Trichirapalli
5) St. Joan of Arc: The patron Saint of France
6) Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregarious Centenary Celebrations
7) Bicentenary of the Old Seminary in Kottayam
9) Swami Chinmayananda : Celebrating his Birth Centenary: A Rs.10/- coin issued by the Hyderabad Mint
10) Commemorating the Birth Centenary of Acharya Tulsi of Jainism by issuing a Rs.20/- coin
Other interesting posts on Christian Saints, Churches, priests and the Pope: 1) The inspiring story of Saint Teresa :
2) Saint Alphonsa: The first Catholic Woman Saint of India
3) Pope Francis: 80th Birthday on 17.12.2016: 6 Commemorative coins issued by Cook Islands
4) Christ Church Fort Teppakulam, Trichirapalli
5) St. Joan of Arc: The patron Saint of France
6) Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregarious Centenary Celebrations
7) Bicentenary of the Old Seminary in Kottayam
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