In the end, the strains of military music faded and the flowers were quick to wilt in Calcutta's tropical heat. The only lasting tribute to Mother Teresa can be her work, which her followers pledged to continue as they buried her.
Thousands lined the streets in 90-degree temperatures and intermittent heavy rain to watch the Roman Catholic nun, her body in an open white casket resting on a gun carriage, make her final journey through the city where she began her worldwide mission to the poor.Thousands more watched solemnly as 10 archbishops and cardinals said Mass in an indoor sports stadium. Mother Teresa's burial later was private - or as private as it could be with crowds of mourners and journalists peering into the windows of her convent, where a few hundred nuns prayed as her body was lowered into its grave.
Mother Teresa, known as the saint of the gutters, died of a heart attack Sept. 5, at age 87.
"God loved the world so much that he sent to us Jesus Christ. And Jesus loved us so much that he sent to us Mother Teresa," said Sister Nirmala, who took over as head of the Missionaries of Charity order in March after Mother Teresa retired.
"We should pledge ourselves to continue what God has begun through her so beautifully. We pray that we may be faithful and truthful to the spirit that God has given to our Mother."
Sister Nirmala's shy manner seemed to touch onlookers, who responded to her eulogy with loud, prolonged applause. She and the 4,000 other nuns of the Missionaries of Charity will need such support to continue raising orphan children in Calcutta, feeding hungry street people in Rome and caring for babies with AIDS in Washington.
Some, even in the order, have expressed concern that it will be difficult to raise funds without Mother Teresa's charismatic leadership. But Sister Nirmala, speaking to reporters a day before the funeral, said, "the Missionaries of Charity is dependent on divine providence. God will provide whatever we need."
Henry D'Souza, archbishop of Calcutta, was equally confident about the future of Mother Teresa's sisters.
"God is using them and as long as we have this conviction, all will be right and all will prosper," he said in his eulogy.
The poor were with Mother Teresa on Saturday. Scores slipped past police barricades to run beside the garlanded carriage that bore her to the funeral from the church where she had lain in state. They called out, "Mother Teresa, you are immortal."
The three-hour funeral service blended four main languages - English, Latin, Bengali and Hindi. A choir of nuns sang the words of the Nobel prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindrath Tagore: "Touch me with your inspiration, make me whole."
After the Mass, speakers representing the Anglican, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroas- trian faiths paid tribute to Mother Teresa.