To be a superstar and bask in the glare of publicity was never Mother Teresa&’s style. She might have even been embarrassed by the celebrations scheduled later today in the Vatican, and around the world to be sure, including a live telecast, to mark her canonisation. An estimated 500,000 people are expected to congregate in that hallowed square at St Peter&’s. The external affair minister, Sushma Swaraj, will lead an Indian delegation with a few chief ministers also making the trip — some of them declining to be part of the official delegation: perhaps rightly so, for the “saint of the gutters” never craved any kind of state-sponsored pomp and ceremony. Yes, she would have been happy that 350 nuns of her Missionaries of Charity would be present — but only in the sense that the “occasion” would inspire them to add impetus and fervour to their unique brand of humanitarian service. For that, essentially, was her “calling”, to which others were attracted by the example she set.

So much has been written about Mother Teresa that it would be futile to attempt to add to the accolades. Yet it would be churlish not to acknowledge her having found in the slums of Calcutta (as Kolkata was known when she dedicated her life to its suffering) a sense of much spiritual elevation. And in the hearts of its people, an echo of her plea for compassion and understanding. The “hearts” which inspired her to quit the relative comforts of a convent to “work” on the streets, add some dignity to what remained in the lives of the dying destitute. For her their tales were no horror stories or laments, they were tales waiting to be clothed in love. There have been critics aplenty, she never joined issue with them: merely took their barbs in her stride and increased her pace in the effort to provide them solace.

As the Mother&’s hour of glory approaches there will, no doubt, be many who will claim to have assisted her crusade, helped put the Missionaries of Charity on the “map”. The Statesman does not begrudge them seeking that reflected honour, only exhorts the City of Joy to never betray her legacy. The spirit of Kolkata must never be allowed to dissipate. That is what Mother Teresa lived and died for.