Zvonimir Atletić met Mother Teresa as far back in 1977 when he first took photographs of her in her Mission in Calcutta. They have met several times since then while escorting her during her travels in Croatia and India, documenting her work and life as well as the work of her Order, Missionaries of Charity in Croatia and India. Atletić is a photographer who, most probably, has had the most frequent opportunities to document her work with the sick and the poor and his photographs show the absolute dedication of Mother Teresa to help those who are helpless and abandoned.
Atletić’s black and white photographs do not speak a thousand words. They actually do not speak at all. They are enveloped in sacred silence, silence which is the only way to open a space in one´s soul for a dialogue with one´s Maker. Today, at the times of inhuman speed, stress, blows of all kinds which are constantly hitting us, he asks for help from a knight not with loud trumpets but whispering it: “Don’t go anywhere else, do not leave me, stay here”. Atletić’s photographs answer this call, they offer help without a single word. And they stay in oneself as long as life itself
Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work and was elevated into Sainthood on September 4, 2016 as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |