Calcutta - The Catholic church said yesterday it planned to move the funeral mass for Mother Teresa from a city church to a Calcutta stadium to prevent overcrowding.
A spokesman from the office of Calcutta's archbishop said discussions were on with the authorities to shift the prayers to the 15,000-seat Netaji Stadium because the rush of mourners could reach "unmanageable levels."
"If only the Catholics of Calcutta come, they alone can fill up the stadium," the spokesman said.
Mother Teresa's body was brought to St Thomas Church to prevent chaos at the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity. But after some 35,000 mourners thronged the church in Calcutta, it was decided that the funeral Mass next Saturday would require more space.
The body of Mother Teresa has been kept in a glass coffin for public viewing in the church. The authorities yesterday gave permission to the Missionaries of Charity to bury Mother Teresa within the Mother House compound. The Indian army will take charge of the funeral, a close associate of the Nobel laureate said yesterday.