TIRANA, Oct. 19 – Albania commemorated on Wednesday, Oct. 19 the eight anniversary of the beatification of Mother Teresa, the world-famous nun of Albanian origin. Oct. 19 has been a national holiday since 2003 when the Nobel Peace Prize Winner was beatified by John Paul II.
The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet commemorated Mother Teresa with a musical evening called “Sounds of elevation” with the Chamber Music chorus performing a composition by Gjon Simoni based on Mother Teresa’s speeches.
Actress Roza Anagnosti also performed some parts of Mother Teresa’s writings.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Central State Film Archive screened a documentary directed by Albania’s Kujtim Gjonaj featuring Mother Teresa’s life from her early days in Skopje, Macedonia, to her life in Calcutta, India and her beatification in 2003.
Events celebrating Mother Teresa’s 100th birth anniversary in Albania last year culminated on October 19 when the “Millennium Road of Peace” project was inaugurated at the entry of the of the Artificial Lake of Tirana, where square plaques bearing the signature of many Presidents from around the world will be placed in a symbolic gesture for peace and tolerance in the world.
Earlier this year, the Mother Teresa Cultural Foundation led by the PM’s wife Liri Berisha unveiled an exhibition featuring designs of the memorial that will be built in Tirana to commemorate Mother Teresa. The memorial will be built behind the Tirana University’s Rector’s office next to the central boulevard with square named after Mother Teresa and featuring her statue.
Born in Aug. 27, 1910 in Skopje to Albanian parents, Mother Teresa grew famous for humbly ministering to lepers, the homeless and the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. In 1928 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Lareto, a Catholic order that did charity work in India. She took the name Sister Teresa and for 17 years taught school in the country. 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 received 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.
U.S embassy highlights Mother Teresa Day
Sixty five years ago on a lone train to Darjeeling, India, a simple Albanian woman had a vision that would change the world forever. Dedicated to her beliefs, Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa, felt compelled to leave the comforts of her order in Calcutta to dedicate her life to serving the poor. Her work began with a handful of children she taught under a shade tree, but its impact soon spread across the entire globe, changing the face of poverty, service and charity forever.
Few individuals have changed the world with such simple acts. She housed the dying. She fed the starving. She taught the illiterate. For millions of the poor, the homeless, and the suffering, Mother Teresa was the face of hope and love. It was a face born of Albanian roots and divine inspiration. From a humble family in Shkoder, came a woman who would spend her days caring for lepers, meeting with kings, and teaching the world the power of selfless compassion.
Fourteen years after her death, Mother Teresa’s impact is matched only by the power her singular example of service has had to change individual hearts.
“On this Mother Teresa Day, I want to share my appreciation with the Albanian people as we each reflect on the sublime life of a humble Albanian woman who rose above politics, nationality, ethnicity, and religion to teach us all the value of compassion. May we each find ways to incorporate those values into our own lives as we celebrate a woman with a vision that changed us all.”
