[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE BEATIFICATION OF MOTHER TERESA

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Mother Teresa was born Agnes 
Gonxha Bojaxhiu to comfortable circumstances in Macedonia, Yugoslavia 
in 1910.
  She joined the Sisters of Loreto at the tender age of eighteen, 
taking the name ``Teresa'' after St. Teresa of Lesiux, patroness of the 
Missionaries. It would turn out to be a highly appropriate selection of 
names.
  According to legend, Mother Teresa discovered a dying woman lying in 
front of a Calcutta hospital in 1948. She stayed to comfort the woman 
as she died, an experience which marked a turning point in her life.
  The shattering experience of staying by the side of this forgotten, 
poverty stricken women left to die in the street inspired Mother Teresa 
to devote her life and her Mission to serving the poor.
  She founded an order of nuns called Missionaries of Charity.
  Mother Teresa did not just address herself to the poor, she lived 
among them, became part of their community, made their lot, her lot.
  For over half a century Mother Teresa devoted herself to that great 
cause.
  She won the Nobel Prize in 1979 and was the recipient of countless 
other honors and notices.
  None of the accolades changed her lifestyle or her commitment.
  Missionaries of Charity grew from a dozen sisters to over 3,000 
sisters in more than 500 missions in more than 100 countries.
  Mother Teresa became a symbol of compassion and inclusion, of the 
struggle to address the needs of the poor, to provide every human, 
regardless of circumstances a basic dignity.
  It is appropriate that the beatification of Mother Teresa will take 
place on October 19, 2003. It is another important step in the revered 
path to sainthood.
  The life of Mother Teresa has become a symbol for all of us, a 
message that the great mass of poor people on this earth should no 
longer be invisible.
  Her legacy is one that we could all do well to emulate and we can 
only trust that legacy will continue to find a place in the hearts of 
all humankind.

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