VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday shared a Christmas dinner with 250 impoverished people to mark 100 years since the birth of Catholic missionary Mother Teresa, the Vatican said.
"Charity is a force that changes the world," the pope said after the meal, according to a statement released by the Vatican. He also paid homage to Mother Teresa’s "humble" life.
A number of foreigners were among those taking part in the meal, including citizens of Haiti, India, Ethiopia, Gabon and China, religious news agency i.media reported.
Born as Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhi of Albanian origin in August 1910, Mother Teresa founded a religious order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in the Indian city of Calcutta and gained widespread recognition for her charitable work.
A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, she died in 1997 and was beatified in 2003 by then pope John Paul II, a step on the path to canonization and ultimately sainthood.
The Missionaries of Charity order runs a number of assistance centers in Rome, including one in the Vatican, that offer shelter and help to the needy, and it hosts a Christmas dinner for the poor every Dec. 26.
