Church leaders and government representatives started to arrive in India's most densely-populated city yesterday for tomorrow's state funeral of Mother Teresa. The army formally took control of events early yesterday morning when the body of the 87-year-old nun was draped with the country's green, white and orange flag, in a military ceremony at the city-centre church where she has been lying in state since Sunday.
For the thousands of mourners who continued to file past her body throughout the day it was a strange sight. Very few had ever seen the charismatic nun before in any colour other than the blueedged white of her sari, with a blue cardigan in wintertime.
At least half of the visitors to see the embalmed body of the missionary nun were Muslims and Hindus. One of them, a Muslim teacher, Mr Altafu Rahman, described her as a "messenger from God". One of the visitors, a young Catholic monk who had travelled from the southern state of Kerala, said he wanted to become a brother in the Missionary of Charity order. As floral tributes continued to arrive, novice nuns of the Order turned them into a huge picture of the face of Mother Teresa on the lawns beside the church.
Mother Teresa's only living relatives arrived from the Sicilian city of Palermo in Italy yesterday morning. Ms Agi Bojaxhiu, the daughter of Mother Teresa's brother, Lazar, spent much of the day at St Thomas's church with her son, Massimilian. The city which is synonymous with the nobel laureate and "saint of the poor" is having difficulty coping with the numbers of visiting dignitaries and media. Every major hotel in the city has been booked out. For security reasons, many dignitaries will not arrive until tomorrow morning.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Andrews, arrives in Delhi tonight with his private secretary, Ms Barbara Burke, and his special adviser, Mr Gerry Gervin. They will be accompanied to Calcutta tomorrow morning by the Irish ambassador, Mr Jim Flavin, and Mr Padraig Francis of the embassy staff.
The Catholic primate, Archbishop Sean Brady, and the Bishop of Cloyne, Dr John Magee, arrive in Calcutta this evening. The Methodist church in Ireland is represented by its former president, Mr Sidney Callaghan. Archbishop Brady will be one of the five main concelebrants of the Requiem Mass which will be led by the Pope's representative, Cardinal Sodano Angelo, the Vatican Secretary of State.
Up to a million people are now expected to attend the funeral and 11,000 uniformed and plainclothes police are expected along the route as security cameras are installed along junctions.
The indoor stadium where the funeral takes place has a 15,000 seat capacity. The Missionaries of Charity and the Loreto nuns, in whose convent Mother Teresa began her missionary work, have been inundated with requests for passes for the stadium which have become like gold dust.
Sister Ann-Terese, a contemplative nun in Mother Teresa's order, advises them: "Go home and watch it on television and if you don't have one watch it with others."
