Letter: Many to thank for humanitarian work

On Sept. 4, Mother Teresa was made a saint - canonized by Pope Francis. I realize this column is no place for a religious forum (whether one has any religious faith or none), but I believe this recognition deserves some attention.

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Yugoslavia in 1910 and passed away in India in 1997. She spent most of her life (as a Roman Catholic nun) working for 'the poorest of the poor” in Calcutta. To date, she helped create some 4,500 missions worldwide. People under 35 years of age may not know of her extraordinary charitable work.

Mother Teresa (a former Nobel Peace Prize winner) will become a saint in our lifetime. Her dedication as a humanitarian may give us pause to recognize others working for humanity today. Sometimes the names may be a challenge, but it is back to school season and with any hope for world peace, perhaps we can all learn something. So here I go with a short list and a personal message of thanks for their remarkable work to the Dalai Lama, Liu Xiaobo, Malala Yousafzai, Bono, Angelina Jolie, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn, Bill and Melinda Gates, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Mia Farrow and Ben Affleck.

There are so many others who also are trying to make this world a better place.

Thomas F. Marshall

Cedar Rapids