TIRANA, August 14 – Mother Teresa made her first visit to Albania on August 14-17, 1989. The country still lived under communist rule, while her religious and humanitarian work made her a sensitive figure for the Albanian authorities.
Officials classified the visit as private. Marie Goreti, an Albanian-born nun from Prizren, accompanied her. Canadian filmmaker Jeanette Petrie, who lived in the United States and had made a film about Mother Teresa, also joined the visit.
Mother Teresa arrived at Rinas Airport, where representatives of the Albanian Red Cross and the Committee for Cultural Relations with the Outside World received her. She visited places connected to her family and humanitarian work, including the home where her mother and sister had lived and their graves. The programme also included the “Martyrs of the Nation” cemetery, kindergartens, the Oncology Institute, the Pneumology Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the House of Pioneers in Durrës.
Meanwhile, Mother Teresa sought to establish a Missionaries of Charity centre in Albania. She wanted to bring at least 4 sisters to serve elderly people, patients and people without family support. The authorities rejected her request.
By 1989, Mother Teresa had established charity homes in around 80 countries. Her congregation had about 3,000 sisters from 35 nationalities, along with thousands of volunteers.
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