Mamata remembers Mother Teresa on her 21st death anniversary

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday remembered Mother Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, on her 21st death anniversary.

Taking to her Twitter handle, Banerjee said that the United Nation (UN) had declared the day as the "International Day of Charity".

"Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta) passed away on this day in 1997, after a lifetime of service for the poorest of the poor," Banerjee tweeted.

"Sincerest tribute to her. In her memory, the @UN declared this day as the International Day of Charity," she added.

Special prayers were held today to pay tribute to Mother Teresa. Candles were lit at her grave in Mother House, the global headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) she founded.

The Vatican had declared Mother Teresa Patron Saint of the "Archdiocese of Calcutta" on September 6, 2017 in recognition of her selfless service towards helping the poor and the underprivileged in the city.

Teresa, whose actual name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, left her home in Skopje, now in the Republic of Macedonia, at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto in Rathfarnham in Ireland. After this, she never met her family again.