U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Kolkata, visits Saint Teresa’s Mother House

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (May 23, 2026) began his maiden four day visit to India by visiting Mother House, the headquarters of Saint Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, in Kolkata.

Marco Rubio in India LIVE- May 23, 2026

Mr. Rubio arrived in Kolkata this morning, and went to Mother House in central Kolkata. Secretary Rubio was welcomed by the sisters of Missionaries of Charity where he spent about an hour. After visiting Mother House. Mr. Rubio visited Nirmala Sishu Bhawan, an orphanage run by Missionaries of Charity. After the visit to the Missionaries of Charity, Secretary Rubio visited Victoria Memorial in the city. Security was stepped up at Mother House and Victoria Memorial for the high profile visit.

Secretary Rubio arrived in Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at about 6.50 a.m. where he was welcomed by U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor. Officials of the West Bengal government and officials of the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata were also present to greet him.

“Honored to welcome my friend @SecRubio to India! We have an ambitious agenda ahead, including the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, focused on advancing @POTUS’ vision for an even stronger U.S.-India partnership. Looking forward to great conversations and making real progress together!” Ambassador Gor posted on social media. Later in the day, the U.S Secretary of State is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.

The visit of U.S. Secretary of State to Mother House in Kolkata also assumes significance particularly in the wake of suspension of FRCA Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, license to the catholic organisation. U.S Congressman Chris Smith had urged the Secretary of State to raise the issue of suspension of the FCRA license to Missionaries of Charity.

Missionaries of Charity, was set up by Mother Teresa, a catholic nun in 1950 and has become synonymous with Kolkata with several international dignitaries visiting the catholic non -government organisation committed to service of the poor and homeless. Mother Teresa was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and almost two decades after her death in 1997, canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.

“He [Secretary Rubio] wanted blessings at the Mother’s Tomb. So we prayed together and that’s about it, nothing else happened . It was just a family get-together,” a representative of Missionaries of Charity told mediapersons.

TMC decries “hypocrisy”

Meanwhile, TMC MP Sagarika Ghose decried the “sheer hypocrisy” of the Narendra Modi government. “An anti-Christian government which through new proposed FCRA bill had barred Missionaries of Charity from receiving foreign aid and is enabling seizure of Church assets, thus destroying the ability of Christian institutions to do the humanitarian, massive educational and healthcare providing service they are known for, yet now show casing our revered Mother Teresa’s organisation for the international visitor,” she said in a post on X.

The previous occasion when the city hosted the U.S. Secretary of State was in May 2012 when Hillary Clinton had visited Kolkata and met the then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Secretary Rubio’s visit to Kolkata comes weeks after BJP has come to power for the first time in West Bengal.

Kolkata, has been an important city as far as bilateral relations between India and USA are concerned. Kolkata holds a preeminent place in the history of American diplomacy as one of the oldest American consulates in the world, and the very first established in India.