NEWS STORY: State funeral, private burial set for Mother Teresa

c. 1997 Religion News UNDATED _ As tributes to the life of Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner who became an enduring symbol of compassion for the least among us, continue to pour forth from around the world, the government of India announced the nun would have a state funeral on Saturday (Sept. 13) in […]

c. 1997 Religion News

UNDATED _ As tributes to the life of Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner who became an enduring symbol of compassion for the least among us, continue to pour forth from around the world, the government of India announced the nun would have a state funeral on Saturday (Sept. 13) in Calcutta.

At the same time, the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded almost 50 years ago, began preparations for the private burial service that will take place after the state funeral. She will be buried at Mother House, the headquarters compound of the order in Calcutta.


Both the location and the shape of the funeral had been up in the air following Mother Teresa’s death Friday (Sept. 5) at the age of 87 as Catholic religious leaders and government officials sought to work out the arrangements, including a site for the funeral that would hold the throng _ including some of the poorest of the poor Mother Teresa made her own _ expected to attend.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, who represented the U.S. at Princess Diana’s funeral Sept. 6, will lead the U.S. delegation to the 90-minute funeral Mass. Some 20 cardinals and bishops from around the world are expected to participate. The funeral will also include speeches by Indian government officials and other dignitaries.

Indian government officials declared Sept. 13 a day of national mourning, adding that the state funeral will take place in a 12,000-seat stadium. The nun’s coffin will be draped with the Indian flag, placed on a gun carriage and taken by military escort to the stadium.”People might think of war when they see a gun carriage, but this is not the way it should be taken,”said the Rev. Anthony Rodricks, an aide to Calcutta Archbishop Henry D’Souza.”A state funeral is the highest honor the state government can give Mother and that is the spirit in which the ceremony should be taken,”he said.

In a statement, the Missionaries of Charity said it was”pleased that India has made an unprecedented decision to grant Mother a state funeral. This is a tremendous honor for us all.”We are sure that she would also want us all to renew our collective commitment to alleviating poverty and suffering by showing God’s love to all on this earth.” Mourners poured into Calcutta over the weekend to pay their respects at at St. Thomas Church, one of Calcutta’s oldest and largest Catholic churches, where the nun’s body is laying in state.

Around the world, tributes _ more accolades for her life than grief at her death _ continue to pour forth and at Roman Catholic churches and Indian embassies, spontaneous shrines of flowers, pictures and other memorabilia have been created in the days since her death, a testimony that the self-effacing nun, too, had achieved something of celebrity status.”During her long life, Mother Teresa’s service to the poor was an exceptionally powerful witness,”said the Rev. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches.”Few have attracted the attention of the world as Mother Teresa did. Not only did she preach by word and deed that everyone is of infinite value to God, she also persuaded others of this vital fact, and to act on it.” In the United States, the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, sent a message to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops expressing Protestant and Orthodox condolences.”We rejoice with you for the life of Mother and for the friendship, counsel and ministry she practiced for the benefit of so many in the human family who have special needs,”Campbell said in the message to Monsignor Dennis Schnorr, general secretary of the NCCB.”We celebrate her arrival in the heavens of our God and know that the celestial jubilation is most befitting of the life she lived.” In Washington, D.C., 5,000 people Sunday attended a Mass celebrated by Cardinal James Hickey, archbishop of the Washington, honoring Mother Teresa. Such Masses were replicated across the country and the around the world, especially in those places where the Missionaries of Charity have programs.”Although she attracted universal attention, she always directed the focus away from herself, and toward the good that others do to help the unfortunate,”said Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark, N.J.

Mother Teresa’s death, however, was not without its commercial aspects.

HarperSanFrancisco announced that it will publish in December”Mother Teresa: the Complete Authorized Biography”by Kathryn Spink.

And The Blessing Company of St. Joseph, Mich., the controversial firm that manufactures nun dolls in traditional habits, rushed out a news release saying they had pulled their latest catalogue from the printer Friday just as it was to go to press to feature the Missionary of Charity nun doll. Earlier this year, a coalition of nuns had urged a boycott of the firm, charging it exploited the image of nuns in order to make money.


The firm said it will donate 10 percent of all sales of the doll to Mother Teresa’s order.

MJP END ANDERSON

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