Kerala honours Mother Teresa by declaring her birthday as Orphans' Day

Thiruvananthapuram – The state government of Kerala has honoured Blessed Mother Teresa by observing her birth anniversary as a special day for orphans.

The State Department of Social Welfare, announced on August 22, that the birth anniversary of the Catholic nun who served the poor of Calcutta for over 50 years, would be observed annually as Orphans' Day and special programs would mark the day in orphanages.

"It's a meaningful decision," V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, Kerala's Industries and Social Welfare Minister said.

Officials of the social welfare department said details of the programs would be worked out later.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on Aug. 26, 1910, Mother Teresa came to India in 1929 at the age of 18 and took up teaching and became an Indian citizen in 1948. She started working in slums and later set up her Missionaries of Charity, which was approved by the Vatican in 1950. The “Saint of the Gutters” as she was popularly known, won several accolades and awards for her service for the poor and needy, including the Magsaysay Award in 1962, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the John F. Kennedy International Award in 1971 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Presently, the Order of the Missionaries of Charity runs over 500 homes in over 100 countries.

Through its social welfare department, the Kerala government funds 419 orphanages that house some 25,000 children.

The state government's decision has gladdened the Missionaries of Charity nuns. According to Sister Angelet, their regional superior in Kerala, though they never celebrated their founder's birthday while she was alive, yet, they welcome the government’s decision as “It's a good gesture and poor orphans can celebrate their birthday more meaningfully.”

“We celebrate by thanking God the gift of our life, asking Mother to pray for us and bless us so that we also dedicate our life to the service of the poor,” said Sister Nirmala, the current head of the Order that is based in Calcutta.

Several church leaders including Archbishop Maria Calist Soosa Pakiam of Thiruvananthapuram, have lauded the government’s move of giving a "rare honor to the Mother."

"Mother Teresa was the embodiment of kindness and service. She had shown the way that we all should follow. I'm very happy that government has taken a positive decision to honor the Mother," Archbishop Soosa Pakiam noted.

Fr. Paul Thelakat, spokesperson for the Syro–Malabar Church, an Oriental Catholic rite based in Kerala, has described the government decision as "recognition for the services of Mother, who loved all irrespective of religion and caste."

Mother Teresa qualified for beatification after Vatican officials acknowledged that she was responsible for a miracle in which an Indian woman was cured of stomach cancer through her intervention.

According to Roman Catholic Church law, the beatification process cannot begin until at least five years after a candidate has died. But Pope John Paul II personally intervened to waive the waiting period for the beatification of Mother Teresa.