Saint Teresa's birth anniversary observed in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee pays homage

The Chief Minister tweeted: "'Peace begins with a smile.' Homage to @StTeresaOfCal, Mother to many of us, on her birth anniversary."

In Kolkata, the Missionaries of Charity’s Mother House (MoC) held special prayers in memory of Saint Teresa.

It was special moment for her followers when  the Vatican city had witnessed the canonisation of Mother Teresa on Sept 4, 2-16.

Pope Francis had bestowed the title of saint to her.

Mother Teresa came to Kolkata in 1929 after she heard a call from God to serve the poorest of the poor. She set up schools for street children and medical clinics for slum dwellers. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity.

When she died Sept. 5, 1997, the order had nearly 4,000 nuns and operated about 600 orphanages, shelters for the homeless and clinics. Today, there are more than 4,500 nuns in over 139 countries.

Mother Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

She was also conferred with India’s highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1980.

Mother Teresa established the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 with the mission of caring for, “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

The branches of Missionaries of Charity have spread in several countries which continue their service to humanity by reaching out to the needy.

Born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Albania, Mother Teresa believed “What the poor need most is to feel needed, to feel loved. There are remedies and treatments for all kinds of illnesses, but when some one is undesirable, if there are no serving hands and loving hearts, then there is no hope for a true cure”.

According to a biography written by Joan Graff Clucas, in her early years Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service in Bengal, and by age 12 had become convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life.

Mother Teresa, one of the most recognizable faces of the 20th century, was put on the fast track to sainthood after her death.

The late Pope John Paul II bent Vatican rules to allow the procedure to establish her case for sainthood to be launched two years after her death instead of the usual five, and she was beatified in 2003.

According to the Roman Catholic Church, saints are as those believed to have been holy enough during their lives to now be in Heaven and able to intercede with God to perform miracles.

Teresa has been credited with two miracles, both involving healing of sick people.

The latest happened in 2008, when a Brazilian, Marcilio Andrino, unexpectedly recovered from a severe brain infection.

According to reports, he and his wife Fernanda will attend the canonization.

The other miracle happened to Monica Besra, a poor tribal from a village around 400 km from Kolkata.

She was cured of a large stomach tumor in 1998 after she was touched by a dazzling ray of light from Mother Teresa's photo.