Initiative to Promote Importance of Benevolent GivingRome, September 05, 2013  

Today, the United Nations (UN) commemorated the anniversary of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta by declaring September 5th as the International Day of Charity. According to the UN website, the initiative was proposed by Hungary ”with the goal of creating a universal platform to raise awareness about the importance of benevolent giving.”

The UN headquarters in New York will commemorate the day with panel discussions that will highlight the role of charity in alleviating poverty and promoting access to clean water and sanitation in the world.

“On this International Day of Charity, the United Nations invites all Member States and all international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, by encouraging charity, including through education and public awareness-raising activities,” the UN stated in a communique.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who passed away on September 5th, 1997, worked tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of the poor in the streets of Calcutta. The order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity, was established in 1950 and spread all over the world to serve “the poorest of the poor.”

Blessed Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19th, 2003 by Blessed Pope John Paul II.