The Indian Foreign Ministry flatly refused the request from Albania to return the remains of Mother Teresa to her ethnic homeland on Tuesday Oct 13.
“Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen and she is resting in her own country, her own land,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement for the media. Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha had issued a statement four days ago in a press conference that his government would intensify official discussions to repatriate Mother Teresa’s remains by August 2010, a time that marks the 100th anniversary of her birth. Albania has initiated similar negotiations for the return of the remains of other national icons, including King Zog I from France.
Mother Teresa was born to Albanian parents, and her childhood name was Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She went to India in 1929 and dedicated her life to the sick and needy of Calcutta, where she founded the Missionaries of Charity order. She was given Indian citizenship in 1951 and remained in India until her death in 1997. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and was beatified by the Vatican in 2003. Many believe that her beatification paved the way for her canonization expected to happen soon.
“I think she will be more peaceful than anywhere else if she could rest next to her mother and sister, buried in Tirana,” Berisha told local media. He maintains that the issue would remain “open” despite India’s opposition.
Mother Teresa reportedly said, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world.”
Erkanda Bujari is a freelance reporter who monitors and reports on the events of the Albanian communities worldwide.
