Mother Teresa remembered, 100 years on

30 Aug 2010, 1:42 pm   -   Source: AFP
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Mother Teresa's birth place Skopje host several cultural events linked to her life in the town and her work in faraway Kolkata. (Getty)

Mother Teresa's birth place Skopje host several cultural events linked to her life in the town and her work in faraway Kolkata. (Getty)

Macedonia and neighbouring Albania honoured Mother Teresa on Thursday on the 100th anniversary of her birth in Skopje, now in Macedonia, to Albanian parents.

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Macedonia and neighbouring Albania honoured Mother Teresa on Thursday on the 100th anniversary of her birth in Skopje, now in Macedonia, to Albanian parents.

In the Albanian capital of Tirana hundreds of people of all ages gathered on Thursday morning to place red roses at the Mother Teresa monument on the square also bearing her name.

"Mother Teresa deserves respect and I am proud to have the same origins as her," 20-year old student Tea, dressed in white and blue - the colours of Mother Teresa's order - told AFP.

For several days all the main streets in Tirana have been decorated with little white and blue flags and portraits of the nun, who became known as the "Saint of the Gutters" for her work with India's poor and destitute.

The Albanian authorities also announced they will issue special gold commemorative coins with Mother Teresa's likeness.

The postal services issued a special series of stamps celebrating her birth centenary on Thursday.

Mother Teresa's birth place Skopje host several cultural events linked to her life in the town and her work in faraway Kolkata.

The Macedonian parliament held a special session to honour Skopje's most famous daughter.

On the streets of the Macedonian capital, people praised the nun but there was also criticism.

"Mother Teresa is a humanist in every possible way and she is moving others to follow her path and devote their lives to humanity," Milijana Peseva, a 43-year-old economist told AFP.

"I feel great pride that she is from Skopje."

Others feel that all the celebrations were a bit much.

"Before we didn't know anything (about her). Now we are flooded by information and events about Mother Teresa," Zoran Miteski, 35, told AFP.

"I'm not sure what she was really like and as far as we know, we have not seen any kind of miracle that she has done. I don't know what to say," he added.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910, she arrived in India in 1929 and two years later took her first religious vows as a nun and adopted the name Teresa under which she would achieve worldwide recognition.

Mother Teresa was beatified in 2003, after being fast-tracked by the Vatican, but her elevation to sainthood is still awaiting proof of a medical miracle.
 

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