By ervin lisaku
TIRANA, April 12 – The 100th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa will be marked with a marathon of cultural events until October 19, the day of her beatification seven years ago. The series of events on the “Mother Teresa Year,” as 2010 has been declared, opened on Monday at a ceremony held at the premises of the Ministry of Culture with a concert paying homage to the famous nun of Albanian origin. The Mother Teresa choir and the string orchestra performed the premiere of Stabat Mater by Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi. The concert will also be given in the Albanian cities of Shkodra, Lezha and Korca, Montenegro’s Ulcinj, Kosovo capital Prishtina and Skopje, Mother Teresa’s birthplace.
Speaking at the events launch ceremony, Albanian Culture Minister Ferdinand Xhaferaj said all activities aimed at honouring and paying tribute to Mother Teresa, whom he called an “icon of humanity and global peace.”
“The events also aim at making known her Albanian origin and the special love Mother Teresa had for Albania and Albanians,” said Xhaferaj.
A tight calendar of events including concerts, painting, book and photo exhibitions, as well as theatrical pieces and musical and literary creations dedicated to the Nobel Peace Prize winner will be held in the National Museum of History, the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet, the National Library, the Arts Gallery etc.
Events will continue with the “12 Saints” exhibition at the National Library in Tirana, where rare books about Mother Teresa and other personalities of Albanian origin declared Saints by the Holy See will be put on display.
A scientific conference by the Academy of Sciences and the Albanian Centre for Albanological Studies will be held early next June when some archive materials on Mother Teresa and the press coverage she received at her time will also be displayed.
Activities will culminate on August 26, Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday, when several prizes including the best musical composition and literary creations will be awarded. An official concert will be held at the Opera House and a documentary screened at the National Museum. August 26 will also mark the start of works for the construction of a memorial dedicated to Mother Teresa in the Tirana’s square named after her. The building will serve as a cultural centre and museum.
The marathon of events will close on October 19, her beatification day, with an international festival of choir bringing together European choirs. A drama dedicated to Mother Teresa will also be staged at the National Theatre.
Born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia, Mother Teresa grew famous for humbly ministering to lepers, the homeless and the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a new order devoted to helping the sick and poor. The order grew to include branches in more than 100 cities around the world, and Mother Teresa became a worldwide symbol of charity.
In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, and in 1985 she was awarded the Medal of Freedom from the United States. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 19 October 2003, placing her one step from sainthood in the Catholic faith.
