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People in eastern India’s Kolkata city on Friday marked the 106th birthday of Blessed Mother Teresa with prayers Friday, less than 10 days before she is to be raised to the glory of the altar as a saint on Sept. 4.   The day, Aug. 26 started with Mass by Archbishop Thomas D'Souza of Calcutta, attended by the over 300 co-workers, volunteers, laypeople and nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation Mother Teresa founded in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, to serve the poorest of the poor.  Archbishop D'Souza said Mother Teresa's life was one of sacrifice and love, empowered and strengthened by her faith. 

Kolkata city also kicked off the fourth Mother Teresa International Festival on Friday, showcasing 23 films from 15 countries exclusively on Mother Teresa.  "The objective of this festival is to spread Mother Teresa's message to the world, raise awareness and sensitize people about her work and good deeds," Sunil Lucas, SIGNIS India president and the film festival director told UCANEWS regarding the 4-day festival.  A statue of Mother Teresa was also scheduled be unveiled at Bishop's House in Kolkata by West Bengal state chief minister Mamata Banerjee later in the evening.  Mother Teresa will be declared a saint by Pope Francis at a canonization ceremony in Rome, Sept. 4, which  will be attended by an Indian government delegation, including Mamata Banerjee. 

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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis urged members of Secular Institutes to work for a renewed charism that unites the lay and consecrated aspects of their lives and mission. His remarks came in a message sent on his behalf by the Secretary, of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to participants attending the World Conference of members of Secular Institutes held in Rome this week. 

The Pope wrote that they are both lay and consecrated people and both aspects are on the same level and equally important.  He encouraged the members of the Secular Institutes to live an intense life of prayer, saying their greatest challenge is to be schools of sainthood here on earth, living normal lives but always at the service of others and bearing witness to the values of brotherhood and friendship.   

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Vatican City, Aug 26, 2016 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s been said that saints often come in pairs.

Sts. Peter and Paul, Mary and Joseph, Francis and Clare, and Louis and Zelie Martin are just a handful of such saints, coupled together through marriage or friendship.

Perhaps the best-known modern saintly pair of friends would be Mother Teresa and John Paul II, whose lives intersected many times during her time as Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charity, and his pontificate.

When John Paul II came to visit Mother Teresa’s home in the heart of the slums in Kolkata in 1986, Mother Teresa called it “the happiest day of my life.”

When he arrived, Mother Teresa climbed up into the white popemobile and kissed the ring of the Bishop of Rome, who then kissed the top of Mother’s head, a greeting they would exchange almost every time they met.

After their warm hello, Mother took John Paul II to her Nirmal Hriday (Sacred Heart) home, a home for the sick and the dying she had founded in the 1950s.

Footage of the visit shows Mother Teresa leading John Paul II by the hand to various parts of the home, while he stops to embrace, bless, and greet the patients. He also blessed four corpses, including that of a child.

According to reports of the visit from the BBC, the Pope was “visibly moved” by what he saw during his visit, as he helped the nuns feed and care for the sick and the dying. At some points the Pope was so disturbed by what he saw that he found himself speechless in response to Mother Teresa.

Afterwards, the Pope gave a short address outside the home, calling Nirmal Hriday “a place that bears witness to the primacy of love.”

“When Jesus Christ was teaching his disciples how they could best show their love for him, he said: 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Through Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity, and through the many others who have served here, Jesus has been deeply loved in people whom society often considers ‘the least of our brethren,’” the Pope remarked.

“Nirmal Hriday proclaims the profound dignity of every human person. The loving care which is shown here bears witness to the truth that the worth of a human being is not measured by usefulness or talents, by health or sickness, by age or creed or race. Our human dignity comes from God our Creators in whose image we are all made. No amount of privation or suffering can ever remove this dignity, for we are always precious in the eyes of God,” he added.

After his address, the Pope greeted the gathered crowds, making a special stop to greet the smiling and singing sisters of the Missionaries of Charity.

Besides calling the visit the happiest day of her life, Mother Teresa also added: "It is a wonderful thing for the people, for his touch is the touch of Christ."

The two remained close friends, visiting each other several times over the years. After her death in 1997, John Paul II waived the five-year waiting period usually observed before opening her cause for canonization. At her beatification in 2003, John Paul II praised Mother Teresa’s love for God, shown through her love for the poor.

“Let us praise the Lord for this diminutive woman in love with God, a humble Gospel messenger and a tireless benefactor of humanity. In her we honour one of the most important figures of our time. Let us welcome her message and follow her example.”

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By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When nonviolence is the basic approach of political decisions and public policy, it promotes the restoration and consolidation of peace, the Vatican said.

In his message for the Jan. 1 celebration of World Peace Day, Pope Francis will offer reflections on the importance of nonviolence as a political choice, the Vatican said in a statement Aug. 26.

"Nonviolence: A style of politics for peace" is the theme the pope chose for World Peace Day 2017, the Vatican said. A papal message on the theme will be sent to heads of states around the world in December.

Pope Francis' frequent references to a "third world war in pieces" highlight the "serious negative social consequences" of violence, the Vatican statement said.

"Peace, by contrast, promotes socially positive consequences and it allows the achievement of real progress. Therefore, we should act within what is possible, and negotiate ways of peace even where they seem tortuous and impractical," the Vatican statement said.

By recognizing the rights and equal dignity of every person, the statement continued, nonviolence as a political method can "constitute a realistic way to overcome armed conflicts."

"In this perspective, it becomes important to increasingly recognize not the right of force but the force of right," it said.

In choosing nonviolence as the World Peace Day theme, the Vatican said, Pope Francis wants to indicate a "path of hope" in a world that needs to learn to settle disputes through negotiation rather than resorting to conflict fueled by the "scourge" of illegal arms trafficking.

"It does not mean that one nation can remain indifferent to the tragedies of another. Rather it means a recognition of the primacy of diplomacy over the noise of arms," the Vatican statement said.

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