Mother Teresa will be canonized as Saint Teresa on September 4 at the Vatican, in Rome.
Mother Teresa's birthday is always celebrated joyously at her home, Mother House, in Kolkata. But this year, there is something special in the air. After all, ten days from today, she will be canonized as Saint Teresa of Kolkata.
The tune of 'Happy Birthday to You' has been playing at Mother House from six in the morning. At a special mass, the Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza dwelt on the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, contrasting them with Mother Teresa's message of love.
"Today is Mother Teresa's 106th birth anniversary and it is a very special one indeed, coming on the eve of sainthood that will help spread her message of love," the Archbishop said.
Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Prema is already in Rome helping with the preparations for the canonization ceremony. At Mother House in Kolkata Sister Lysa is holding fort.
"Mother used to say, yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to come. Today is when you must love people. Begin today," she said.
Residents of Kolkata, people whose lives Mother Teresa had touched, drifted in through the day at Mother House. Among them a 36 year old nurse, Ananya Kumar.
"I lost my mother. I was in deep crisis. But I came here and found love from the sisters and Mother Teresa," Ms Kumar said. Turning to a likeness of her she simply added, "Happy Birthday Mother. I love you."
Among those who came to pay their respects and remember the Mother, was singer Usha Uthup who will also be singing at St Peter's Square in Vatican City on the eve of Mother Teresa's canonization on Sunday.
"I am a night club singer, now I will be singing at St Peter's Square. Mother did it," Ms Uthup said.
Mother Teresa had come to Kolkata in 1929 from Albania. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity to help lepers and the homeless in Kolkata. Today, the Missionaries of Charity run chapters in at least 130 countries, helping the poor and the destitute. Mother Teresa was beatified in October 2003 after a miracle attributed to her was authenticated by the Vatican. A second miracle in Argentina paved the path to sainthood.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled a statute of Mother Teresa at the Archbishop's House today, dedicating it to the people of Kolkata. The sculpture has been funded by the Honorary Consul General of Macedonia. Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in Macedonia's capital Skopje.
Ahead of the canonization on September 4th, there is unprecedented excitement among the sisters at the Missionaries of Charity and also among those who continue to look up to Mother. Kolkata has always known Mother Teresa, but never a canonized saint.