Mother Teresa nuns get the camping habit

[emad]

As the Catholic Church's princes - the Cardinals - slum it out this week in Rome's St Martha's (a kind of luxurious, five star Vatican hotel-type ecclesiastical hangout for top prelate honchos) the UK's BBC reports that a deluge of nuns is in town, staying in somewhat more modest accommodation:

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So many nuns have poured into Rome ahead of the beatification of Mother Teresa that they are having to be housed in emergency tents usually reserved for earthquake victims. Thousands of nuns, including more than 440 from Mother Teresa's own order, the Missionaries of Charity, are making the journey to see Pope John Paul II perform the ceremony on Sunday.

Bright yellow emergency tents from Italian Civil Defence supplies have been erected into a makeshift tented village on the outskirts of Rome. One has been set aside as a chapel, so nuns overflowing from permanent chapels have somewhere to pray.


The nuns are not the only Catholic pilgrims flocking to Rome:Hundreds of thousands of people are expected at Sunday's lengthy ceremony in St Peter's Square, which is expected to tire the frail Pope. Souvenir shops are packed with memorabilia - although some shopkeepers said Mother Teresa's work among the poor meant her supporters were generally not big spenders. "Who supports Mother Teresa? Poor people. And by definition, they don't have much to spend," said one. And if the souvenirs don't please, fans can attend a musical based on the nun's life, which opened to a full house at Rome's Brancaccio Theatre on Tuesday. The musical portrays a dynamic Mother Teresa singing and dancing her way through adversity to care for the poor - backed by a swaying chorus line of sisters.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3191726.stm


Maybe the Church's camping holiday idea will catch on? All they need is a new website - like the Poor Clares nuns' order in Ireland launched this week.....

[emad]

1. Addendum: Mother Theresa The Musical

From BBC News:

A musical about the life of Mother Teresa has had audiences flocking to a Rome theatre ahead of the late nun's beatification by the Pope.
The show looks back at her five decades of helping the poor in Calcutta, set to reggae, funk and pop songs. About 1,300 people packed the Brancaccio theatre for its first night. "The aim is not to tackle political problems but to portray her most ephemeral aspects," said the show's creator Michele Paulicelli.

The musical, which has already played to 70,000 during a tour of Italy, is one of a number of events being held ahead of the ceremony on Sunday. The part of Mother Teresa is played by 22-year-old actress Giada Nobile, showing the nun battling red tape to ensure food reached the needy. The musical's author offers an uncritical assessment of the religious figure, leaving out political controversy such as Mother Teresa accepting donations from the likes of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell and former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

The opening night in Italy was greeted with rapturous applause throughout from the audience, mainly made up of nuns, teachers and pupils.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3193534.stm