Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday left for Italy on a week-long visit to Rome and Germany to attend Mother Teresa's canonisation ceremony and meet potential investors.
A 12-member official delegation and a group of industrialists are accompanying her.
She left Kolkata on an Emirates flight in the morning.
"At the invitation of Missionaries of Charity, I am leaving for the holy Vatican City to participate in the canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa. Mother was the mother of humanity. Her love for the ailing, the needy and the entire humanity was unbounded," she said on Twitter.
"Bengal is more proud as Mother lived and worked here and showered us with her abundant love and care. It is indeed a moment of great pride and honour. Bless us Mother, so that we can continue to serve the people," Mamata said.
The Chief Minister will stay in Italy till September 5 where Rome's first woman mayor Virginia Raggi will host a special reception during her visit to Vatican City.
From Rome, she will fly to Munich where she will hold meetings with businessmen in the manufacturing sector.
Mamata is scheduled to return to Kolkata on September 10.
