Rubio visits Missionaries of Charity on the first day of his visit to India

MUMBAI, India – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Kolkata, India, early on Saturday, where he visited Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by St. Mother Teresa.

Rubio spent an hour at the headquarters and then visited Nirmala Sishu Bhawan, an orphanage run by Missionaries of Charity.

“It was a joy to welcome him, he wanted Blessings from Mother’s Tomb, it was like a family get together,” said Sister Concettina.

“We were also really surprised to have him visit. We did not expect such a high-ranking dignitary to come here, but it was his wish to visit Mother’s tomb and pray. So we all joined together in prayer and thanked God for the gift of his life,” the religious sister said.

Hindus make up nearly 80 percent of the country, and Christians – the majority of them Catholics – only make up 2.3 percent of the nation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ruled the government since 2014. The party has strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization. Religious minorities have complained of increased harassment since the party took power on a Hindu-first platform.

Incidents of harassment