
Prof.dr Skender Asani/
The tenth anniversary of the canonization of Mother Teresa is far more than a solemn commemoration. It is an occasion for reflection on the life and legacy of a figure who, setting out from Skopje, came to occupy a place in the universal conscience of humanity. It is in this spirit that we should also understand the presentation of the book and exhibition “The Missionary Journey of Gonxhe Bojaxhiu towards the Universal Mother Teresa.” This event is not merely a return to historical memory; it is also an invitation to reflect on our responsibility towards heritage, towards the present, and, above all, towards the future.
The story of Mother Teresa begins in Skopje, within the Bojaxhiu family and within the spiritual, familial and cultural environment in which the Albanian girl Gonxhe was formed. It was there that the earliest foundations of her identity and human sensitivity were shaped. At the time of Gonxhe’s birth, Skopje was the administrative centre of the Kosovo Vilayet, and even when she departed for her missionary calling in 1928, the city remained an important administrative and cultural centre of this broader region. This historical connection is more than a biographical detail; it also creates a particular responsibility for Kosovo and for the wider Albanian cultural space to preserve, study, affirm and transmit Mother Teresa’s legacy to future generations.
This connection with Kosovo becomes even more meaningful when we turn to Gonxhe Bojaxhiu’s family background. The roots of her parents were connected with the region of Prizren and its surroundings, an area marked by a rich Albanian cultural, religious and historical tradition. For this reason, when we encounter early photographs of Gonxhe dressed in traditional Albanian attire, in clothing associated with the cultural tradition of the Prizren region, we are not simply looking at a family or folkloric image. We are also looking at a visual testimony to the world of memory and identity from which her family emerged. In this sense, traditional dress becomes part of the language of heritage: Skopje was the city in which Gonxhe was born and formed, while the Prizren region represented part of the familial and cultural landscape that nourished her Albanian identity. Skopje and Prizren should therefore not be understood as two disconnected points in her biography, but as parts of the same historical and spiritual geography that shaped Gonxhe before she embarked upon her universal mission.
The documents presented in this book allow us to understand this continuity more clearly. In the pages of the periodicals “Katoličke Misije” and “Blagovest,” during the period in which Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was becoming Sister Teresa and later the Mother Teresa known throughout the world, reference continued to be made to her origin: the Albanian woman from Skopje. These sources seem to offer us a quiet but enduring guide for understanding what may be called the historical and spiritual triad of her life: Gonxhe, the Albanian girl from Skopje; Mother Teresa, the universal humanitarian figure; and Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
These are not three separate personalities, but three stages of one and the same life and mission. Gonxhe represents origin, roots and identity; Mother Teresa represents the mission that transcended national, cultural and religious boundaries; and Saint Teresa of Calcutta represents the spiritual dimension that her work and witness ultimately acquired for humanity. Gonxhe did not disappear when she became Mother Teresa, nor did Mother Teresa lose her roots when she was canonized.
On the contrary, each stage expanded and completed the meaning of the previous one.
Our relationship with her should therefore be equally comprehensive and balanced. We should preserve Gonxhe, the Albanian girl from Skopje, as the symbol of origin; affirm Mother Teresa as a universal mission; and honour Saint Teresa of Calcutta as a spiritual value that now belongs to humanity as a whole. Her roots speak of origin, her mission demonstrates universality, while sainthood gives her legacy a dimension that transcends both time and place.
Without equating distinct historical experiences, this threefold journey may also offer us a symbolic framework for reflecting on the path of our own people. Our modern history, too, has passed through profound stages of transformation: from a prolonged period without freedom and with increasingly restricted opportunities for development, through the dramatic years of 1998–1999, when Kosovo faced a grave humanitarian catastrophe, and then into a new historical phase initiated by NATO’s intervention, which brought freedom and opened the way towards the building of institutions and, later, the statehood of Kosovo.
This historical trajectory should not be interpreted as a completed process. Freedom opened a new horizon, statehood created a new responsibility, and the future requires that these achievements be preserved, strengthened and further developed. History does not grant us the right to stop where we have arrived. On the contrary, it places upon us the responsibility to safeguard what has been gained and to advance what has been built with wisdom, moderation, responsibility and vision.
The final stage of Mother Teresa’s physical life was likewise not the end of her journey. She was no longer alive when, in 2016, the Catholic Church canonized her, yet her work continued to live, inspire and acquire new meaning. This reminds us that great transformations do not necessarily end with a single generation, nor with one human life. They continue whenever a legacy is preserved, developed and carried beyond the point at which it began.
For us as well, freedom and statehood cannot be the points at which history comes to a halt. They must serve as the foundations upon which the next stage is built: stronger institutions, deeper international affirmation, economic and cultural development, peace and a meaningful perspective for future generations. We should not obstruct this natural historical trajectory ourselves, but rather assist it through responsibility, wisdom and vision.
In this context, the message of unity acquires particular significance. In a world in which international relationships and global balances are changing rapidly, we must know how to value what has been achieved. Freedom is not only a right that has been won; it is also a responsibility that must be protected. The state is not merely a political institution; it is also a historical inheritance that must be strengthened and advanced.
This requires unity at moments when unity is essential, dialogue when differences arise, and coexistence as a value that must not be undermined. We have inherited a culture in which people of different faiths and backgrounds have known how to live alongside one another, to respect the religion, tradition and dignity of the other, and to come together in difficult moments. This culture of respect and coexistence remains one of the moral foundations that we are called upon to preserve today.
This was also at the heart of Mother Teresa’s mission. She placed herself at the service of the human person without distinction of ethnicity, religion, colour or race. Before her there were no strangers; there were only people in need of help, dignity, care and love. She did not ask people to become identical to one another, but demonstrated that people who are different can nevertheless come together around goodness, human dignity and responsibility towards others.
On another historical plane, Kosovo experienced in 1999 the power of international non-indifference in the face of human tragedy. That history has its own political and historical circumstances and should not be equated with the story of Mother Teresa. Yet, on a moral level, both remind us of a simple and powerful principle: in the face of human suffering, one must not remain indifferent.
The year 1999 changed the course of Kosovo’s history and opened a new chapter. From an issue that once had to be explained to the world, Kosovo advanced towards freedom, the building of institutions and statehood. Today it is part of numerous international agendas, and for that very reason our responsibility is greater: what was won through sacrifice must be preserved with wisdom, and what has been built must be advanced with responsibility.
A single tree may have many branches, each extending in its own direction, yet all are nourished by the same roots. We too may have political, social or ideological differences, but such differences must never cause us to forget that freedom, statehood, peace and the future are shared responsibilities.
From Skopje, Gonxhe received the formative roots of her early life, while family memory and heritage also connected her with the region of Prizren. Through her mission, she became the universal Mother Teresa, and through the enduring power of her work she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta. This triad reminds us that identity, universality and the lasting triumph of a great work do not negate one another; rather, they are built upon one another.
In the same spirit, our own journey must also remain one of forward movement: from survival towards freedom, from freedom towards statehood, and from statehood towards consolidation, development and international affirmation. None of these stages should be understood as the final destination.
Kosovo therefore bears a particular responsibility to preserve, cultivate and promote the figure of Mother Teresa as one of the most powerful values of our cultural and spiritual heritage. To make Mother Teresa part of Kosovo’s cultural and spiritual identity does not mean confining her within a national framework. It means acknowledging the roots from which Gonxhe emerged while, at the same time, respecting the full universality of Mother Teresa.
This tenth anniversary should therefore be not only an act of remembrance, but also a moment of responsibility. We must know how to preserve freedom, strengthen the state, cultivate coexistence and harmony, and ensure that we do not obstruct with our own hands a historical process that should continue towards development and a better future.
Gonxhe did not remain merely Gonxhe; she became Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa did not remain merely a figure of her own time; her work endured, and she was canonized. In the same way, we should not regard what has been achieved as a final destination, but as the foundation upon which the next stage must be built.
Let us therefore preserve Gonxhe, the Albanian girl from Skopje, as a symbol of our roots, while also remembering her family and cultural connections with the region of Prizren. Let us allow Mother Teresa to retain the full scope of her universality, and let us regard Saint Teresa of Calcutta as testimony that a great work can continue to prevail beyond the limits of time. In the same spirit, what history has given us in the form of freedom and statehood must be preserved, strengthened and carried forward with responsibility.



