Mother Teresa Visits Islamabad

It's a rare occurence when a "Saint" visits your home town. Probably, even rarer still, when you come face to face with him or her in your neighbourhood. Well, such a situation did arise back in the mid-1990s. The Sainthood in question was Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Visiting Pakistan, on her list of public engagements was to attend a service at my neighbourhood church "Our Lady of Fatima", located less than 100 meters down the road in sector F-8/4 from where I lived with my parents at the time. We have since shifted to another sector. 

We read about Mother Teresa's scheduled visit in the local newspaper. Both my mother and myself were thrilled at the prospect of attending the service and coming face to face with this selfless nun who has devoted her entire life to caring for the abandoned and destitute. Going on foot, we were among the first to arrive. Some people had already gathered inside awaiting Mother Teresa's arrival. I stood outside taking some photos. There were two western gentlemen from whose white robed attire I guessed they must be priests. Soon, a car pulled up in front of the church steps from which an elderly lady clad in white, with head covered, emerged along with a few companions. Standing to the side of the entrance, I raised my camera after a moment, to take the first shots.

The service inside the spacious but architecturally simple church itself was quite lively. There were singers and Mother Teresa, seated at the center of a long table, gave a talk. The church was packed to the limit with men, women and children, foreigners were among those present and, off course, many Pakistani Christians and their well-wishers had turned up as well. By the way, I wasn't the only one taking photos. Be assured, I had plenty of company! After the service I didn't have the opportunity to shake hands with and be blessed by our visiting "Saint" though. My dear mother got that opportunity.

You may want to check out the Mother Teresa Centre. They collect and share information on the deceased Saint and were quite receptive to this webpage.

The Church of Fatima in Islamabad's F-8/4 Sector. This Catholic Church is one of only two small churches in Pakistan's capital, the other is a Protestant one behind Jinnah Avenue constructed of a splendid red brick architecture. Sadly, terrorists bombed another one in Islamabad's Diplomatic Enclave a few years back. 

The photo on the left shows the two Church representatives chatting away and awaiting Mother Teresa's arrival. I don't know their names. I should have asked. The one on the left was probably British, the other may be an Italien. This is my educated guess.

The photo on the right shows Mother Teresa's car pulling up in front of the Church steps and her emerging from it.

Two photos of Mother Teresa taken close up. These are the best photos of her in this photogallery.

These photos were taken inside the Church. As you can see, many people, both Pakistanis and foreigners, had come to attend the service and see Mother Teresa. There was also some singing (see second photo).

After the singing was over, Mother Teresa, seated at the center of a table in front of a microphone, addressed the gathering.

After the service ended, it was time for Mother Teresa to depart. The photo on the extreme left shows her emerging from the Church. The other two photos show her mingling with the visitors.

Some more photos which were taken after the Church service. The photo on the extreme left shows Mother Teresa in the centre of a small crowd. She climbed into her car and departed as modestly as she came. After that the visitors dispersed (see photo on the right).

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