The Delhi Catholic Archdiocese will organise week-long celebrations from October 17 to spread the message of Mother Teresa ahead of her beatification on October 19 at the Vatican.
"The archdiocese is overjoyed at the news of the beatification of Mother Teresa, and its celebrations will include a symposium, blood donation camps, fellowship meals and inter-religious prayer meetings," Delhi Archbishop Vincent M Concessao told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.
A symposium on the life and message of Mother Teresa would be co-hosted with the Young Men's Christian Association and will be inaugurated by former president K R Narayanan. It will be attended among others by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and former finance minister Manmohan Singh, Concessao said.
Asked if any official representative would be attending the beatification ceremony at the Vatican, Concessao said a request to this effect has been made to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The archdiocese has also decided to give a one-time Mother Teresa award of Rs 35,000 to a "committed social worker," he said, adding there will also be celebrations in other parts of the country, including a film festival on Mother
Teresa in Kolkata.
On the day of the beatification, all parishes in the archdiocese are advised to have one main mass in the morning, he said.
