Today Is the Hundredth Birthday of Mother Teresa of Calcutta

_

Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Graphics (Toronto: June 9, 1998) © Joachim Romeo D'Costa

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. We specially remember, how coming from such a humble background, she could win the world's heart for service to the poorest of the poor. She was tiny in stature, but a giant in her love and commitment.

I have an website, called Jerome's Pages on the Catholic Church and Faith, that has a page on Mother Teresa dealing with her short biography and her teachings (sayings). On the occasion of Mother's Teresa's 100th birthday on August 26, 2010, I reproduce below her biography for the benefit of readers of my present blog. (I have rewritten the "Honours, Awards and Prizes" section below and added a few more items there).

A Short Biography of Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Her Birth

Mother Teresa, with her baptismal name of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was born on August 26, 1910 at Skopie, at the time part of Albania and presently the capital of Macedonia. Attending a public school, she regularly participated in the catechism [religion] classes and the choir in her Jesuit-run parish besides being active in a Catholic youth organization, Daughters of Mary.

Her Vocation

Once she mentioned: "At the age of 12, I first knew I had a vocation to help the poor. I wanted to be a missionary." At 15, she was inspired to work in India by reports sent home to Skopje by Jesuit missionaries in Bengal, India. In 1928, she applied for admission to Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Loreto Sisters, already at work in India. On September 26 of the same year, she arrives at the Mother House of the Sisters in Dublin, Ireland. After two months of intensive English language training, she leaves Ireland by ship and arrives at Calcutta, India, on January 6, 1929.

A Novice and Then a Teacher

After two years of novitiate at Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas, she takes her temporary vows as a nun of the Sister of Our Lady of Loreto on May 24, 1931. Then she takes up her first assignment as a teacher of geography and history at St. Mary's High School at Entally, Calcutta. On May 24, 1937, she professes her final vows and continues her teaching and then becomes the Director of Studies at the same school that gave education to girls, mostly from well-to-do families.

A Call to Serve the Poor

On September 10, 1946, Sister Teresa was on a train journey from Calcutta to Darjeeling for participating in her community's spiritual exercises. While praying quietly in the train, she got divine inspiration to work for the poor. She says: "...I clearly felt a call within my calling. The message was very clear. I had to leave the convent and consecrate myself to helping the poor by living among them. It was a command. I knew where I had to go, but I did now know how to get there."

Founding of the Missionaries of Charity

After exploring the possibilities, Sister Teresa applies for the permission of Pope Pius XII to live outside the convent and start a new congregation of nuns to work exclusively for "the poorest of the poor." Ultimately on August 16, 1948, she leaves the Loreto Convent wearing a white sari with blue borders. At the time, she had only five rupees (Indian currency valuing a little more than a U.S. dollar) in her pocket? After taking a three-month intensive course on nursing under the American Medical Missionary Sisters at Patna, she starts her work among the poor of Calcutta slums. In 1948, she also applies and receives the citizenship of India. On March 19, 1949, an old student of Sister Teresa becomes the first candidate and later the first nun of her new congregation. Other girls from Calcutta began to follow her. On October 7, 1950, Pope Pius XII officially gives recognition to the Order of the Missionaries of Charity.

Homes for Dying Destitutes and Orphanages

On August 22, 1952, she opens the Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart), a home for the dying destitutes at Calcutta. The following year, she starts her first orphanage. She then starts other types of institutions including leper colonies in India. Before her death, the work of the Missionaries of Charity was spread in more than 120 countries.

She Co-founds the Missionary Brothers of Charity

In 1963, Mother Teresa co-founded the Missionary Brothers of Charity, with Father Andrew Travers-Ball, S.J., of Australia. Now there are more than 500 members in this Order.

Illness and Death

Since 1983, Mother Teresa suffered several bouts of illnesses and accidents. On March 13, 1997, she hands over the leadership of the Missionaries of Charity to Sister Nirmala, an Indian nun. Ultimately, on September 5, 1997, Mother Teresa dies after suffering lung, kidney and heart problems in Calcutta. The Government of India accorded her a state funeral on September 13, 1997. The Missionaries of Charity, at the time, had more than 4,000 nuns working in about 600 homes in more than 120 countries in five continents.

Honours, Awards and Prizes

Since 1962 until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa received dozens of honours, awards and prizes for her work -- most notable ones being:

• Padma Sri (beautiful lotus flower) Award, for social service, given by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of India (1962),
  
• Ramon Magsaysay Award, for international understanding from the Philippines (1962),

• Pope John XXII International Peace Prize, from Pope Paul VI, Vatican City (1970),
• Good Samaritan Award, given by Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (September, 1971),
  
• John F. Kennedy International Award, U.S.A. (1971),
  
• Jawaharlal Nehru Award for international understanding, Government of India (1972),
  
• Koruna Doot (angel of charity) Award, from the President of India (1972),
  
• Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, given by Sir John Templeton Foundation, Britain (1973),
• Mater et Magistra (The Mother and Teacher) Award, from the Third Order of St. Francis of Assissi (1974),
  
• The Sword of Honour from the Prime Minister of the Yemen Arab Republic (1974),
• The Voice of America's International Women's Year Pin, Washington, D.C., USA (June, 1975),
• Albert Schweitzer International Prize, U.S.A. (Oct. 23, 1975),
  
• Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, given by St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada (November 2, 1975),
  
• The Deshikottama (the best citizen) Award, Vishwa Bharati University's highest honour, given by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the university's chancellor (March 3, 1976),
  
• Ceres Medal from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (1976),
• Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) Award, given in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris, of Pope John XXIII, Vatican City (1976),
  
• Honorary Doctorate of Divinity, , from the University of Cambridge, England (June, 1977),
  
• Balzan Prize, for "outstanding achievements in the field of humanities," Italy (1978).
  
• The Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Norway (December 9, 1979),
• Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India) Award -- the highest civilian award of India, given by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, President of India (1980),
• Order of Australia, "for service to the community of Australia and humanity at large", from the Australian government (1982),
• Honorary Doctorate of Divinity (Theology), from the Catholic University of Brussels, Belgium (1982),

• Order of Merit, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1983),
  
• The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award, given by President Ronald Reagan (1985),
• Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee (August, 1987),
  
• Leo Tolstoy International Award from the Soviet Union (1991),
• Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) Award, given by the Knights of Columbus through Cardinal John O'Conner, New York (August, 1992), because of her work in the spirit of this Vatican II document -- Gaudium et Spes --promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Dec. 7, 1965.
  
• Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (August, 1992),
  
• UNESCO Education for Peace Prize, from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1993),
• Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (for the Church and the Pope) Award, from Pope John Paul II, Vatican City (January, 1993),
  
• Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana (goodwill) Award, India (1993),
  
• The Golden Honour of the Nation Award, given by the Government of Albania (1994),
  
• U Thant Peace Award, "for her heart's sleepless service to humanity," from Indian Hindu religious guru Sri Chinmoy who visits her convent in Rome, Italy, and gives the award (October, 1994),
  
• Honorary U.S. Citizenship, from the U.S. government -- she is the fourth person to receive it (1996), and
  
• The Congressional Medal of Freedom, "for outstanding and enduring contributions to humanitarian and charitable activities," from the U.S. Congress (May 16, 1997).

Mother Teresa was not only a worker of love but also a speaker and teacher of love. Wherever she went, she spoke on her work as well as on issues related to her work. This preaching of the Good News in a simple language touched the hearts of millions of people. She was one of the greatest modern Christian missionary in the world.

P.S. Mother Teresa has been beatified on October 19, 2003 in Rome and she has been given the title "Blessed." Finally, to be a saint, another miracle is required to prove her heroic (extraordinary) virtues.

Brother Flavian Laplante Declared 'Servant of God' - 3

Brother Flavian showing off a big 'lakwa' fish
that his fishermen caught in the Bay of Bengal.
Lakwa fish are one of the most profitable catches.

(Photo Courtesy: The Great Flavian by Brother Alberic Houle, CSC, p.118)

Women's Development Centre

When Sister Pauline Nadeau, CSC, expressed her willingness to work among the Hindu and Muslim women, Brother Flavian was extremely happy to invite her to start her work at Diang in February 1973. She began to work in literacy education -- reading, writing and counting and then expanded to sewing. Then through a women's health centre, assisted by Sister Monique Desnoyers, CSC, women were being taught about health and childcare and their minor illnesses were being treated. Sister Nadeau also taught women to form savings groups and keep accounts. Through these works, a new life came to these poor and neglected women. Before Sister Nadeau left Diang in 1979, she brought some RNDM Sisters to work for these women.
Technical School for the Young
Brother Flavian also saw to it that local young men get technical training in different trades including making and repairing motorized boats. For this purpose, he set up a technical school at Diang.

Miriam Ashram (Hermitage)

Brother Flavian was contemplating to spend his retired days in prayer and contemplation at Diang. To his relatives in Canada he mentioned: "No more errands, no more visits to Dhaka to meet with officers, nothing but prayer and manual work in the orchards of Diang, in the gardens around the hills that I climbed so often and came down as often....Therefore, I shall spend the last years of my life at the feet of the Master." (The Great Flavian by Brother Alberic Houle, CSC, p.134)

During his return from Canada, Brother Flavian visited some ashrams (hermitages) in Europe and India in December 1976. After arriving at Diang, he got rid of his earthly possessions, tools, and documents -- the last relics of his active life at Diang. Brother Alberic Houle writes in his book (p.140): "On December 24, he entered his cell (8'x8') covered with a thatch roof. As furniture, he had a bed, a small table, a chair, three "poufs" for visitors, two small shelves to keep a few books and his small portable typewriter. The ashram is situated between three hills, with an opening on one side; formerly, it was a "Hatir Kheda," a trapping enclosure where many years ago people would capture herds of wild elephants. Bro. Flavian began his new life as "Shadhu," hermit, in the orchard of Miriam Ashram at a distance of 1,500 feet from the Brothers' residence. He did not cook: Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians brought him food (fruits, biscuits, bread...). He did have, however, a small stove to make tea and warm up his food." His ashram life was very intense and austere -- prayer, contemplation, spiritual reading, reading, writing, meeting visitors who came for his spiritual advice and encouragement, work in the gardens, and finally only a few hours' sleep.

On October 1, 1977, he got the 5'3" statue of Our Lady of Lourdes officially erected on the hill of the ashram. People began to come to visit the grotto and pray. On February 11, 1979, he organized a day of prayer and feast in honour of the Our Lady. Eight hundred pilgrims from different parts of Bangladesh attended it. From that year onwards, each February sees a huge gathering of thousands of pilgrims at the ashram shrine. Now it is one of the most famous Catholic pilgrimage sites in Bangladesh.

His Death

In early 1981, Brother Flavian's health began to deteriorate. On March 19, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. On June 19, 1981, he made his last confession and received Holy Communion from Father Shaha. At 9:20 p.m. he died muttering: "Come, Lord Jesus." He was buried solemnly at Diang by Bishop Joachim Rozario of Chittagong. On his death, messages of condolence and appreciation poured in from all over the world where Brother Flavian had friends, donors, and colleagues.

Sources: The Great Flavian by Brother Alberic Houle, CSC
Dhaka: 2003

My Acquaintance with Brother Flavian

In the first half of the 1970's, I came in contact with Brother Flavian at Caritas office in Dhaka where he used to come to submit projects for the development of the fishermen. Then I met him at his place in Diang several times when I took several foreign donors and workers to visit his project. Lastly, Mr. Jeffrey Pereira and I were accompanied by Brother to visit actual deep-sea fishing around midnight in the Bay of Bengal, about 70 miles away from the shore.

In all these interactions, I found Brother to be a real gentleman with ready smile and humour. He had so much kindness and empathy for the poor and marginalized that he just could not help doing something positive and uplifting for them. For this reason, he went to the doors of donors again and again without tiring and losing hope. He was a man of patience in spite of all sorts of rejections, non-cooperation and, at times, a threat to his life. He was fully focused to his goal -- the goal of giving voice to the voiceless, strengthening the economic life of the poor and marginalized. Ultimately, he was a man of prayer, which sustained his spiritual life. He was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary through his daily rosary prayers. At his request, I had compiled a booklet on Our Lady of Lourdes, called Dhannya Lourder Raani O Shaddhi Bernadette, which is being used at the Miriam Ashram shrine for the visiting pilgrims.

I am positive that, one day, Brother Flavian Laplante, CSC, will be canonized and declared a 'saint' after the Catholic Church's proper scrutiny of his life and heroic virtues.

(The End)

Brother Flavian Laplante Declared 'Servant of God' - 2

The cover of the book The Great Flavian by Brother Alberic Houle, C.S.C.
(In the photo above: Brother Flavian taking a nap on the way to visiting
fishermen engaged in deep-sea fishing in the Bay of Bengal)

Work Among the Fishermen

After the Second World War (1942-1945), the fishermen community was in desperate situation after losing their boats and nets and also finance. The boats that the government had confiscated either rotted completely or were in total disrepair. These fishermen mainly lived in the eastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal -- fishing in rivers, canals and ponds -- and, in winter (November to February), they went for deep-sea (seventy or so miles away from the southern coast of Bangladesh) fishing in the Bay of Bengal.

These fishermen were Hindus and their social position was at the lowest stratum. They were sort of untouchables, pariahs. They were illiterate, ignorant of hygienic living, steeped in constant poverty due to indebtedness to the money-lenders, and victims of all sorts of injustices.

Brother Flavian was really moved to do something positive to change the sad plight of these people. As part of the rehabilitation, he contacted Mr. Stuart, the District Magistrate of Chittagong, and secured money to purchase several hundred 50 to 80-feet long trees from the Forest Department and build fishing boats.

For hundreds of years, piracy was a constant problem in the parts of the Bay of Bengal adjacent to greater Noakhali, Chittagong and Arakan district coastal areas. When fishermen return with their catch, pirates attack them and snatch away fish and other stuff from them. The same thing happened with the fishermen who were given new boats. Brother Flavian was very upset when he got the news. He met with the fishermen and told them to face the pirates and not to give up so easily. Later he even went with them for fishing and caught a few pirates. He also took government officials with him and fishermen and caught more pirates who got jail sentences. In spite of all these efforts, piracy could not be rooted out totally.

He started cooperative system among the fishermen and introduced motorized boats for bringing the daily catches to the market and making more money (previously, fishermen would go for deep-sea fishing and return after several months with only dried fish). Brother had to face a lot of problems with the fishermen. Being illiterate and short-sighted about their future and economoic prospects, they would bicker among themselves and were uncoperative many times. Moreover, frequent cyclones in the Bay of Bengal would sometimes wipe out a number of fishermen with their boats. Brother Flavian had to face gargantuan task and exercise endless patience in keeping things moving. Every year he had to raise funds for the fishermen to have their costly boats and gears replaced or repaired before the start of the winter fishing season in the sea. After years of efforts the situation of the fishermen changed for the better.

The Orphanage at Diang

After the World War II, Brother Flavian planned rehabilitation of the 200 orphans who were at the camp at Chaktai. For this purpose, he purchased 80 acres of sandhills, that were covered with jungles, near the Christian village at Diang, 10 miles south-east of Chittagong. People of the surrounding areas -- both Muslims and Christians -- used to gather firewood from the hills. When Brother started his orphanage construction project, Muslim neighbours put up a stiff resistence first by disrupting construction work, then stealing materials from the compound as well as from houses, setting fire in different houses and the like. Brother had to put up with this harassment for long eight years. Ultimately, when these people realized that Brother was really doing good for the people through the orphanage and school, they stopped the disturbances.

In 1946, he also started a primary school for these orphans and neighbouring children. He then gradually expanded the classes to Grade 10. Now it is the full-fledged high school , called Miriam Ashram High School, teaching Arts, Science and Commerce.

Besides this school, Brother Flavian is also the founder of several other primary schools and boarding houses for students in different parts of the Chittagong diocese.

A section of the 80-acre land also was given for rehabilitating more than 120 families who came to the area for work from Chittagong, Raozan, Barisal and other places. They now live in two villages -- Joseph Para and Maria Para.

He also planted thousands of fruit trees (mango, pineapple, papaya, banana, and others) of different variety in the vast area.

Brother Flavian Roughened Up by West Pakistani Soldier

During the War of Independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Miriam Ashram School gave refuge to hundreds of internal refugees who fled from their villages that were attacked by the West Pakistani soldiers and their local collaborators. Brother Flavian helped these people, too, including giving the men work on cash payment. Brother Alberic Houle, CSC, writes: "Bro. Flavian carried on his work among the fishermen in this atmosphere of terror and insecurity. In May, 1971, he kept 120 to 150 workers to cut the jungle on the hills of Diang. In the school, the attendance was very poor because the students feared the rough treatment of the army. Bro. Flavian managed to bury three of the eleven fishermen who had been shot by the military; on another occasion, he had two young Christian girls released from their camp. The soldiers resented the courageous interventions of this foreigner and one day, one of them openly sought a quarrel with him when he was about to cross the river. The soldier ordered Bro. Flavian to come down from the boat, searched him from head to foot, slapped him in the face a few times and told him to be gone...." (The Great Flavian, p. 103).

(More)

Brother Flavian Laplante Declared 'Servant of God' - 1

(L-R): Brother Flavian Laplante, C.S.C. in front of Our Lady of Lourdes

Grotto at the Miriam Ashram at Diang, Chittagong District, Bangladesh;
Brother Flavian as a sannyasi (hermit) at the Miriam Ashram
Photos Courtesy: The Orient magazine (April & May, 2009), Montreal, Canada

Bishop Patrick D'Rozario, CSC, of the Diocese of Chittagong, Bangladesh, recently opened the cause of sainthood and declared Brother Flavian Laplante, CSC, a servant of God at a Mass at the Marian shrine at Diang attended by more than 6,000 pilgrims, including many priests and Religious. The Bishop also at the same time elevated the shrine, founded by Brother Laplante in 1976, to the status of a parish.

Brother Flavian Laplante, CSC, (1907-1981), popularly known as "Brother Flavian", was a Holy Cross Brother and a missionary who worked in Bangladesh from 1932 to until his death in 1981. Initially he was a teacher and then a headmaster in different Catholic schools in the districts of Barisal, Noakhali and Chittagong. Later he was greatly involved with the socio-economic development of the Jolodash (servant of the water or sea) community whose members were Hindus, always facing social exclusion from others and economic hardship. In the last stage of his life, he founded Miriam Ashram (a house of prayer) at Diang, 10 miles south-east of Chittgong on the Karnaphuly River. In the ashram, he also built a grotto with the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and turned it into a shrine in 1976.

Life of Brother Flavian

Brother Flavian, named Doria, was born on July 27, 1907, at St. Louis de Bonsecours in the valley of Yamaska in Quebec, Canada. He was the seventh of the nine siblings -- three girls and six boys. He studied in a village school, about an hour's distance from his home. He proved to be a very good student in the school, especially in Mathematics.

He then joined Holy Cross Juniorate and studied at nearby St. Cesaire College (high school). At the age of 16, he joined the novitiate of the Congregation of Holy Cross at Ste. Genevieve-de-Pierrefonds. On August 15, 1923, he received the religious habit (long white dress) and took the name 'Brother Flavian'.

On August 16, 1924, he took his first religious vows (of poverty, chastity, and obedience). From 1924 to 1927, he was at St. Joseph's Scholasticate studying at the university and at the same time doing household chores, caring for the flower beds, repairing sports equipment and nursing sick scholastics as an infirmarian.

From 1928 to 1932, he was a games teacher and supervisor of the students' dormitory besides being a part-time teacher at the Notre Dame College in Quebec. On August 16, 1928, he took the permanent vows to dedicate himself fully as a Brother in the service of God.

Missionary in East Bengal (later Bangladesh)

On October 17, 1932, Brother Flavian accompanied veteran missionary Father Omer Desrochers, CSC, and Brother Ambrose Dion, CSC, and a fresh missionary Father Eugene Poirier, CSC, to East Bengal. Before his departure, of course, he made it a point to meet with Brother Andre, CSC, the holy man who was renowned for his miracle-works at St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal. When he requested for his prayers and blessings, Brother Andre blessed him saying: "You are leaving for the Mission! I truly envy you."

Teacher and Headmaster

From 1932 to 1943, Brother Flavian served as a teacher and headmaster at different Catholic schools in the districts of Barisal, Noakhali and Chittagong. His genial behaviour, initiative, sportmanship, organizing capacity, hard work and mentoring ability left a lasting impression on the students of these schools.

Among the Famine Victims

During the World War II, the Indian subcontinent, including East Bengal (present Bangladesh) was part of the British empire. In 1942, the Japanese occupied Burma (Myanmar) and came upto Cox's Bazar. They also bombed parts of Chittagong city from the air. The British government at the time told missionaries to move away to the villages and let their soldiers use Catholic Bishop's House, Catholic mission and school buildings and compounds in Chittagong for war purposes.

To prevent the Japanese advance, the British government had confiscated most of the people's boats and trawlers and strictly controlled the supply of rice in the country. Moreover, about 60,000 people from East Bengal would go to Arakan of Burma every year at the times of plantation and harvest to work as farm labourers. This was a good source of earning. Ship loads of Burmese rice would also be imported to East and West Bengal. Due to the war, farmers' earning in Burma and import of rice from there stopped. All these caused a terrible famine in Bengal in 1943. Millions of people were affected and thousands upon thousands died due to lack of food.

The British government through its military personnel opened relief centres in different parts of the country to feed the famished people. At the request of Mr. Stuart, the District Magistrate of Chittagong, Brother Flavian opened a centre in Chittagong city where he was living (at Mr. Leonard Moreino's house). Brother took the offer most gladly. In fact, there were two relief camps: one was run by Brother Joseph, C.S.C. on one side of the road for Christians and Muslims who ate beef and, on the other side, Brother Flavian ran another for the Hindus -- mostly fishermen -- who, for religious reasons, did not eat beef. There were many cases of most famished people, who somehow managed to come to the relief centres so exhausted, that they fainted and died while eating their first meal in the camp after a gap of several days!

Brother Flavian and his colleagues worked day and night for taking care of the famine victims. Father Godfroy Danis, C.S.C., wrote in the Bulletin Missionnare of January, 1952 under the title "La Famine et la charite": "A crowd of destitutes could be seen going towards Bro. Flavian's headquarters; they were coming from all directions and in every possible condition; they were coming by day, by night. Bro. Flavian's lodging and the grounds around the house became a real caravansary. Bro. Flavian himself occupies a small room in one corner for a few hours at night when falling from exhaustion, he crumbles so to say among his beloved famished people."

Brother Flavian also had opened a dispensary in a corner of the house to nurse the wounded and the skin-diseased persons.

The British army needed 500 fishing nets to camouflage the military vehicles and artillery equipment. At their request, Brother Flavian engaged a group of local fishermen, their wives and children to produce these nets on cash payment. At the beginning of May, 1943, at the request of Colonel Delgardo, Army Chief Director of Chittagong port, Brother Flavian engaged 1,000 fishermen to work as dock workers for loading and unloading army supply and materials. In addition, Brother also opened the first school for about 200 orphans, who were children of fishermen and lost one or both parents or were born illegitimate.

(More)