Mother Teresa inspired Princess Diana to help the poor when she visited her convent as she and Prince Charles drifted apart.
Previously unseen letters written by Diana reveal how a trip to Calcutta in India changed her life forever.
A note and a written prayer in today’s Sunday Mirror say the nuns caused a spiritual awakening on the visit, which was followed by a visit to Mother Teresa’s home.
Princess Diana visited Mother Teresa in 1992 and says it caused a spiritual awakening
After meeting with sick children in February 1992, the princess of Wales wrote a prayer and sent it to her butler Paul Burrell when she returned home.
An accompanying note said spoke of a profound awakening after praying with the nuns.
‘Today, something very profound touched my life. I went to Mother Teresa’s home and found the direction I’ve been searching for all these years.
‘The sisters sang to me, a deeply spiritual experience and I soared to such heights in my spirit. The light shone from within these ladies, saints for want of a better word, such love came from their eyes and their touch was full of warmth.
Mother Teresa gave the princess a string of rosary beads during her visit
‘I was then taken by Sister Federica to the chapel to pray with the novices and sisters.
‘They sang the Lord’s Prayers and with our shoes off we prayed together on our knees.’
Mother Teresa was too ill to see Diana at the time, but they met a few weeks later at her convent in Rome.
Mr Burrell, now 59, said the pair were very close and Mother Teresa brought meaning to Diana’s life.
Diana visited the saint’s home after first meeting with the nuns in Calcutta
‘Diana was very, very spiritual. Her experience of praying with the sisters and seeing sick and dying children set her on a new path.
‘She now had a mission and she found a deep spirituality with Mother Teresa. They were so close.
‘There’s no doubt that this was the inspiration for all of the princess’s wonderful humanitarian work.’
During the visit to India Diana was famously photographed sitting alone at the Taj Mahal 10 months she divorced Charles.
Paul Burrell says the two were very close and he hopes they are in Heaven together
Mr Burrell said the visit sparked a ‘calling’.
‘She said it did change her life forever. She told me the nuns were angels sent to Earth to do God’s work.
‘She said she wasn’t worthy to even walk in Mother Teresa’s footsteps. Diana said she could at least try to follow her example.’
In the weeks leading up to Diana’s death Mr Burrell accompanied 36-year-old Diana on a trip to war-torn Bosnia.
‘We visited a shanty town in Sarajevo. We found a baby curled up on a mat. She picked it up and cuddled it.
‘The baby opened his eyes and we could see he was blind. I was witnessing something very special.
Diana and Mother Teresa died just five days apart and claims the princess reported seeing a miracle in Sarajevo
‘I realised that teaching had come from Mother Teresa. The parallels were astounding. It was Mother Teresa’s work flowing through the Princess.”
He said 87-year-old Mother Teresa, who was made a saint last year, gave Diana a set of rosary beads.
And he said that when he saw Diana in hospital after her fatal Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, he wound the beads between her fingers.
‘They are still there to this day. I think that’s very appropriate.’
Mother Teresa died five days later and Mr Burrell, who opens up about Diana’s death on Channel 5’s In Therapy tomorrow, says the Princess spoke about death.
‘Maybe she waited on Mother Teresa and they went off to Heaven together. I’d like to think so.’