Sep 5, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Thousands of people, including Christians, Muslims, and Hindus, gathered in Calcutta yesterday to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Blessed Mother Teresa.
They came to visit her tomb and the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious congregation which she founded, reported Indian Catholic News Service. Some were seen prostrating before the tomb, some people lit candles. Many stood in silent prayer.
Earlier in the day, Archbishop Lucas Sirkar of Calcutta presided at a Mass, concelebrated with several other priests.
The extent to which the elderly nun touched people of all faiths was evident in the numerous events organized across India.
An inter-religious service was held in Gujarat, where several inter-religious flare-ups have occurred in the recent past. Bishop Thomas Macwan of Ahmedabad urged participants to imitate the life of Mother Teresa and to transcend the narrow confines of sectarianism, reported ICNS.
Mother Teresa died Sept. 5, 1997 of heart failure. The beloved nun was beatified in October of 2003 and her cause for canonization is moving forward at a remarkable pace.