The Catholic Pilgrim's Guide to Kolkata, India

On September 10, 1946, a thirty-six-year-old Albanian nun named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu sat in a third-class carriage of a train climbing from Calcutta toward Darjeeling. She had spent seventeen years teaching geography at Loreto Convent, watching the slums press against the school walls. That day, somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas, she heard what she later called "the call within the call"—a voice commanding her to leave everything and serve Christ in the poorest of the poor. Two years later, she walked out of her convent in a white cotton sari edged with three blue stripes, carrying five rupees. Today that three-story building on A.J.C. Bose Road where she established her motherhouse in 1953 draws pilgrims from across the world. Here Saint Teresa of Calcutta lived for forty-four years, and here she lies in a simple white marble tomb inscribed with Christ's words from the cross: "I thirst." The tomb rests on the ground floor, surrounded by the same grey walls and wooden furniture she knew—a saint preserved not in gilt and grandeur but in the ordinary poverty she chose. Kolkata's Catholic heritage reaches back further still, to Portuguese traders who arrived in Bengal before the British, building the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary in 1799—a blue-and-white survivor of the city's layered colonial past that still serves as the seat of the Archbishop.

📜 History & Spiritual Significance

Catholicism reached Bengal with the Portuguese, who established a trading post in Bandel on the Hooghly River in the 1530s. In 1599, they built the Basilica of the Holy Rosary there—the oldest Catholic church in Bengal, which still stands forty kilometers upriver. When Job Charnock founded Calcutta in 1690, Portuguese descendants of Eurasian heritage migrated to the new settlement, concentrating in an area called Murgihata—"the poultry quarter"—because they were the only residents who raised fowl. The Augustinian friars who accompanied them built a mud chapel in the late seventeenth century, replaced by a brick structure in 1700. After complex colonial disputes—including Lord Clive's expulsion of the Portuguese in 1757 and the temporary conversion of their chapel to Anglican use—wealthy Portuguese trader Joseph Barretto financed a new church. The Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary was consecrated on November 27, 1799, and remains the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Calcutta. The Holy See established the Vicariate of Bengal in 1834, entrusting it to the English Jesuits, who arrived at the end of 1838. On September 1, 1886, Pope Leo XIII elevated it to a Metropolitan Archdiocese. Today the Archdiocese of Calcutta covers 29,857 square kilometers of West Bengal with a total population of approximately 49 million. Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Teresa of Calcutta serve as its co-patrons. The modern pilgrimage significance of Kolkata centers entirely on Mother Teresa. Born in Skopje on August 26, 1910, Agnes Bojaxhiu joined the Sisters of Loreto at eighteen and arrived in India in 1929. After her mystical experience on the Darjeeling train in 1946, she left Loreto on August 16, 1948, received brief medical training with the American Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, and returned to Calcutta. On December 21, 1948, she opened her first slum school in Motijhil, using muddy ground as a blackboard. On February 28, 1949, the Gomes family donated space at Creek Lane for her first convent. On October 7, 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity with twelve initial members. In 1952, the Calcutta government gave her an abandoned temple of the Hindu goddess Kali to establish Nirmal Hriday—the Home for the Dying—where the destitute could die with dignity. In February 1953, the sisters moved into the three-story building at 54A A.J.C. Bose Road that became the Mother House. Mother Teresa lived and worked there until her death on September 5, 1997. Pope John Paul II beatified her on October 19, 2003; Pope Francis canonized her on September 4, 2016, during the Jubilee of Mercy. In February 2025, her feast was inscribed in the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial, celebrated universally on September 5.

☩ Pilgrimage Sites in Kolkata

Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity

The grey building with brown windows on A.J.C. Bose Road gives no hint of what it contains: the tomb of a woman who received the Nobel Peace Prize, met presidents and popes, yet owned only three saris. Mother Teresa's tomb lies on the ground floor—a simple white marble slab bearing the words "I thirst," echoing Christ's cry from the cross that became the spiritual foundation of her order. Pilgrims kneel beside it in silence, leaving prayer petitions in a box; all requests are offered on the altar during the weekly Friday Mass at 4:30 PM. Upstairs, the sisters have preserved Mother Teresa's room exactly as she left it: the narrow bed, the wooden desk, the few possessions of a woman who took a fourth vow of "wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor." A small museum called "Mother Teresa's Life, Spirit and Message," opened in 2005, displays her worn sandals, her battered enamel dinner bowl, her rosary, crucifix, and personal correspondence. Daily Mass is celebrated at 6:00 AM in the main chapel on the first floor for sisters and volunteers. The house remains the global headquarters of an order now numbering over 5,750 sisters in 133 countries. Address 54A, A.J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata 700016 GPS 22.55293, 88.363689 Map Google Maps Web motherteresa.org

Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary

Portuguese Church Amidst the chaos of Burrabazar, the blue-and-white façade of Kolkata's Catholic cathedral rises like a memory of vanished empire. The two domed towers with their crown-shaped cupolas announce Portuguese rather than British heritage—a distinction invisible to most tourists but theologically crucial. Joseph Barretto's church, consecrated in 1799 on the site of an earlier Augustinian chapel, is the actual seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Calcutta, not the Anglican St. Paul's Cathedral that dominates the tourist circuit. Inside, fourteen wooden panels in bas-relief depict the Stations of the Cross. Behind the altar, figures of the Madonna and Child watch over the remains of the first Archbishop of Calcutta, buried below. The Jesuits administered the cathedral from 1834 to 1921, the Salesians from 1921 to 1972; diocesan clergy have served since. Sunday Mass fills the interior with light filtering through circular stained-glass windows, illuminating inscriptions carved in white marble that record three centuries of Catholic presence in Bengal. Address 13-15 Brabourne Road, Portuguese Church Street, Burrabazar, Kolkata 700007 GPS 22.570833, 88.353333 Map Google Maps Web archdioceseofcalcutta.in

Church of Our Lady of Dolours

Baitakhana Church Founded in 1809 in Sealdah, this church served the growing Catholic community near the railway terminus that would become one of India's busiest stations. Known locally as Baitakhana Church, it predates the formal establishment of the Vicariate of Bengal and represents the organic growth of Catholicism in colonial Calcutta before formal episcopal structures were imposed. The church continues to serve a vibrant parish community.

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The foundation stone was laid in 1832, and the church was blessed in 1834—the same year the Holy See established the Vicariate of Bengal. Located on Lenin Sarani (formerly Dharamtala Street), Sacred Heart Church witnessed the transformation of Calcutta from trading post to imperial capital to independent metropolis. Its history parallels the institutional development of the archdiocese itself.

🕯️ Annual Feast Days & Celebrations

Feast of Saint Teresa of Calcutta — September 5

On the anniversary of Mother Teresa's death, the Missionaries of Charity and pilgrims gather at the Mother House for special celebrations. The day begins with solemn Mass in the chapel where she prayed daily for forty-four years, followed by prayers at her tomb. Since her 2016 canonization, September 5 has been celebrated as her liturgical feast, and in February 2025 the feast was inscribed in the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial for the universal Church.

Inspiration Day — September 10

The Missionaries of Charity observe September 10 as "Inspiration Day," marking the anniversary of Mother Teresa's 1946 train journey when she received her "call within the call." This interior feast holds special significance for the sisters, commemorating the mystical moment that launched their order's mission to the poorest of the poor.

Founder's Day — October 7

October 7, 1950, marks the official founding of the Missionaries of Charity. The anniversary is celebrated at the Mother House with thanksgiving Mass and renewal of the sisters' commitment to their foundress's charism.

🚗 Getting There

By Air: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) lies approximately 18 kilometers from the Mother House. Taxis and app-based cabs take 45 minutes to an hour depending on Kolkata's notorious traffic. By Train: Sealdah Railway Station stands approximately 4 kilometers from the Mother House; Howrah Railway Station, across the Hooghly River, is about 6 kilometers away. Both stations connect Kolkata to destinations throughout India. By Metro: Park Street station on the Kolkata Metro Blue Line is approximately 2 kilometers from the Mother House. Auto-rickshaws and taxis complete the journey. By Local Transport: The Mother House on A.J.C. Bose Road is accessible by taxi, auto-rickshaw, and city buses. For those staying in the Sudder Street tourist area, the walk takes approximately 15 minutes via Alimuddin Street.

📚 Further Reading

Books: Spink, Kathryn. Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography — The definitive account written with Mother Teresa's cooperation, based on extensive interviews and access to her papers. Kolodiejchuk, Brian, ed. Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light — Her private letters revealing decades of spiritual darkness, edited by the postulator of her canonization cause. Online Resources: St. Teresa of Calcutta — Pope Francis's homily at her canonization Mass, September 4, 2016. (Vatican.va) Mother Teresa Canonization — Biography and prayer resources. (EWTN)

🔗 Useful Links

Missionaries of Charity — Official website with information about the order and pilgrimage to the Mother House. Archdiocese of Calcutta — Official diocesan website with parish listings and archdiocesan news. Kolkata Tourism — West Bengal Tourism for visitor information.

🧭 Nearby Pilgrimage Destinations

Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel (40 km) — The oldest Catholic church in Bengal, built by Portuguese Augustinians in 1599 on the banks of the Hooghly River. The basilica survived Shah Jahan's 1632 siege and houses a venerated statue of Our Lady of Happy Voyage.

🪶 Closing Reflection

"I thirst."

— John 19:28