Archbishop D'Souza: Mother Teresa will be the co-patron of Calcutta
by Nirmala Carvalho

Today is the liturgical memory of the Mother of the Poor. Tomorrow, Msgr. Giambattista Diquattro, apostolic nuncio in India and Nepal, will read the decree proclaiming Mother Teresa the second patron of the Archdiocese, after St. Francis Xavier. An interreligious meeting at Mother's Tomb, a witness that was loved by all.


Calcutta (AsiaNews) - Mother Teresa will be co-patron of the Archdiocese of Calcutta. This is confirmed to AsiaNews by Archbishop Thomas D'Souza, on day the world marks the liturgical memory of the Mother of the Poor.

Meanwhile, at 6am this morning (local time), the ceremony in honor of the Mother was commemorated. The Eucharist was officiated by Msgr. Giambattista Diquattro, apostolic nuncio in India and Nepal, in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity.

Today the universal Church remembers the Mother of the Last, who - as Pope Francis underlined during the canonization on September 4, 2016 - "in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded.  She was committed to defending life, ceaselessly proclaiming that “the unborn are the weakest, the smallest, the most vulnerable."

Archbishop D'Souza reports that tomorrow at the cathedral of Calcutta he will declare Mother Teresa the "second patron of the Archdiocese after Saint Francis Xavier." Mass will take place at 5.30 pm (local time). The apostolic nuncio will read the decree to those present.

Mother Teresa was an example of tireless love for all and was loved not only by Christians. This is witnessed by the interreligious meeting organized yesterday at the tomb of the Calcutta Saint, attended by representatives of all confessions: Sikh, Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, Church of North India (Protestant) and Catholic Church. The archbishop reports that "every religious leader read a message and offered a prayer". The event was strongly advocated by the West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, present in Rome on the day of the canonization of the nun who, from Calcutta, brought the message of divine mercy around the world.