Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Submitted on October 17, 2003

Send to friendEven during her lifetime, everyone who had the slightest knowledge of Mother Teresa of Calcutta knew that she was a living saint. That conviction will be given official recognition on Sunday, Oct. 19, when Pope John Paul II proclaims her beatification. When Mother Teresa died of cardiac arrest on Sept. 5, 1997, many hoped that the Holy Father would proceed quickly to declare her sanctity. Just 15 months after her death, the Pope dispensed from the customary norms which require a five-year delay before a process for canonization is initiated. Now, just six years and six weeks after her death, her cause has reached the stage of beatification, the threshold of canonization. Last Dec. 20 the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presented the Holy Father its conclusion that Mother Teresa lived a life of heroic virtue and accepted the 1998 hearing of an Indian woman as the miracle required for Mother Teresa’s beatification. The future Blessed Teresa was born Agnes Ganxhe Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. At age 12 she knew she wanted to be a missionary. She joined the Loretto Sisters in Dublin in 1928 and in 1929 was sent to the Loretto Novitiate in Darjeeling, India. She taught at a Catholic girls’ school in Calcutta but could not ignore the incredible poverty all around her. On Sept. 10, 1946, while riding on a train, she received a call from God to leave the convent and serve the poor while living among them. Two years after that she was given the Church’s permission to follow her new calling. Over the years the work of Mother Teresa and her new community with the poor, orphans, the aged, the handicapped and the dying became legendary. No one could learn of her goodness, dedication and love and not be moved. She became the living embodiment of God’s love and mercy. The way in which she loved and served the most needy taught us about the worth of each human being. She gave such a powerful example of charity that her work among the most forgotten will continue. Her life was a special gift from God to a world in need of love. Her community now serves in 130 countries. At Cardinal John Joseph Carberry’s request, her community was established in St. Louis. She used to say "Accept whatever God gives and accept whatever God takes, with a smile." And that is how she lived each day. At times it is said that good is not newsworthy. Yet when Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in 1997, the world applauded. Mother Teresa proved that pure goodness is like a magnet, and if this is true of a saint, what must God be like? The Archdiocese of St. Louis will celebrate the beatification of Mother Teresa at a special Mass at the cathedral basilica, Newstead Avenue at Lindell Boulevard, on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. The faithful of the archdiocese are invited.