Our united parish is blessed to have many patron saints praying for us as we work together to live out the Gospel message. Each of these individuals has guided a segment of our parish community for many years, and now that we are united together as one parish, there is so much we all can learn about these powerful witnesses to the faith. Their example helps bring us closer to Jesus as his disciples on Earth.

Saint Teresa of Kolkata
(1910-1997)

What a blessing it is for our parish to continue our mission together under the patronage of Saint Teresa of Kolkata, more commonly known around the world as Mother Teresa, a humble servant who lived out the principles of Catholic Social Teaching each day, particularly the teachings of respect and dignity for the human person and option for the poor and vulnerable.
 
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Albania, and like so many other saints, she felt a calling to religious life and knew that being a sister was her vocation. When she was eighteen, she joined the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. After nearly two decades as a teacher and headmistress in Kolkata (then Calcutta), she felt a new calling to care for the poor and sick in her city. She left the sisters and began her own order, the Missionaries of Charity. The Missionaries of Charity devoted their lives to caring for those who were poor, suffering, and marginalized, provided meals and shelter, and treated those ignored by society with dignity and respect. She truly recognized that we were created in the image and likeness of God and through her legacy, still calls each of us to love our neighbor. Her efforts have been recognized around the world, and she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
 
You may be wondering why the city where she served is spelled “Kolkata”, as it is also spelled “Calcutta.” Until 1948, India was part of the British Empire, and “Calcutta” was the British renaming of the city’s name whereas Kolkata is the original Bengali pronunciation. In 2001, as part of an on-going effort to return the country to its Indian roots, the city was renamed Kolkata, similar to Bombay which was renamed Mumbai.

The Catholic Church celebrates Saint Teresa of Kolkata on September 5.

Prayer to Saint Teresa of Kolkata

O God, who called blessed Teresa to respond to the love of your Son thirsting on the cross with outstanding charity to the poorest of the poor, grant us, we beseech you, by her intercession, to minister to Christ in our suffering brothers and sisters. Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Teresa of Kolkata, pray for us!