World’s first cathedral co-named after Teresa inaugurated
13 Nov : A Roman Catholic cathedral has been co-dedicated to Mother Teresa at Baruipur in West Bengal’s South-24 Parganas district, ahead of her centenary next year.
The Cathedral of Immaculate Heart of Mary and Blessed Teresa at Baruipur was inaugurated on Thursday by the Missionaries of Charity’s Superior-General Sister Prema at a solemn function attended by Archbishop of Kolkata Lucas Sircar and Bishop of Baruipur Salvadore Lobo.
“While the cathedral’s chief patroness is the Sacred Heart of Mary, the co-patroness is Mother Teresa. This is the first cathedral in the world where she is the co-patroness,” Bishop Lobo said.
Following her death on 5th September, 1997, the Nobel laureate nun was put on the fast track to sainthood by Pope John Paul-II and was beatified (declared ‘Blessed’) at a ceremony at the Vatican in 19th October, 2003 on the basis of claims of a miracle attributed to her.
In reply to a question, Lobo, the chief postulator for Mother Teresa’s cause for sainthood, said a portrait of hers was being kept inside the cathedral’s sanctuary.The portrait would soon be replaced with a statue, the Bishop said.
The cathedral is built in the Romanesque style marked by rounded arches and perpendicular elements as prevalent in the 10th and 12th centuries.There are 12 murals on either side of the main hall highlighting the 12 miracles and parables of Jesus Christ, while the artwork on the windows depict Biblical tales.
“We have also done ceiling paintings like the ones seen at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. In this, the use of modern material like fibreglass has gone hand in hand with modern concepts like eco-friendliness,” Subrata Ganguly, whose firm has done the cathedral’s sanctuary, interior decoration and artwork, said.
Facilities have been provided for differently-abled persons to attend prayers in wheelchairs, he said.Set up in 1978, Baruipur is one of the eight Roman Catholic dioceses of West Bengal and serves around 60,000 members.
Besides the entire South 24-Parganas district, it also includes areas under three police stations of North 24- Parganas district, besides a section of the Kolkata metropolis under Thakurpukur police station.
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