Mother Teresa’s Canonization a ‘Blessing’ to Namesakes

Parish and Schools Named for New Saint Prepare to Celebrate Patroness

Courtesy of the school
Courtesy of the school )

SAINTLY SURROUNDINGS. Students at Mother Teresa Regional Catholic School in King of Prussia, Pa. Courtesy of the school

 

Christine Pagan was driving to work when the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would canonize Blessed Mother Teresa six months later, on Sept. 4.

“It was a really big deal,” says the principal of Mother Teresa Regional Catholic School in King of Prussia, Pa.

“We really need [the students] to understand what a really big deal this is … how lucky we are, and blessed we are, to have her being canonized.

“She is our patron!”

 

A Familiar Saint

Pagan is not alone in her passionate response to Mother Teresa’s canonization.

Mary Zachariasen is parish-life coordinator at Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church in Topeka, Kan., but back when the parish was established in 2004, she was simply one of a few hundred parishioners. She remembers being “pleasantly surprised” when the name of the new parish was announced.

“How cool is that?” she thought. “She was a modern-day saint, someone I knew [though not] personally. My kids know her and really loved her. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

The parish is planning a “watch party” so the community can gather to view the canonization together. And the following weekend, the annual parish “Holy Smokin’ Jamboree” will feature a booth focusing on Mother Teresa and her good works. It will be stocked with medals and holy cards to give away, and it’s likely, Zachariasen says, that many jamboree attendees will be wearing the Mother Teresa T-shirts the parish designed and sold.

Interestingly, one of the highlights of the parish’s canonization celebration will be the absence of its pastor. A native of India — where Mother Teresa spent her life in service — Father Tom Aduri returns home to visit his family every summer. This year, the Knights of Columbus spearheaded a drive to help him pay for the costs of an additional trip to Rome, where he will be present for Mother Teresa’s canonization.

“When the Knights announced what they wanted to do, we just got a wonderful response from the community,” said Zachariasen. “We are all very excited about that.” 

 

Outreach to the Poor

Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School in Liberty Township, Ohio, opened in 1998, after local families worked and planned for two years to create the independent school.

Important components of the school’s mission are family involvement (families have to give a minimum of 30 volunteer hours each year) and community outreach. “That’s instilled in all of our new families,” said Noel Balster, director of marketing and events for the school.

“We’ll be reaching out to the less fortunate, organizing fundraisers for the hungry, the homeless, the ill, so we embody our namesake.

“Children know as soon as kindergarten that part of being a student here involves carrying out some of the messages that Mother Teresa stood for.”

The school organizes an annual feast-day celebration for its patron, with a special Mass culminating a week of lessons and programming designed to teach students more about Mother Teresa and her holy mission. At the Mass, every new student is presented with a Mother Teresa medal and prayer card.

This year will be a little more elaborate — but in a way that Mother Teresa would have no doubt approved. Following the Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, everyone will convene for a simple lunch prepared by La Soupe, a Cincinnati organization that rescues leftover and unwanted food from restaurants and grocery stores and uses those items to prepare meals for the hungry. The luncheon will also provide the backdrop for the formal announcement that the school will partner with La Soupe for the entire school year to benefit hungry students in the Cincinnati public-school system and, additionally, will be a host site for the Empty Bowls Project, a national grassroots movement to raise money and awareness to fight hunger.

Since the school will place an even greater emphasis on teaching about and connecting children with Mother Teresa this year, Balster said, faculty and staff thought, “Why not have most of our [community service] projects throughout the year benefit the hungry, like so much of what she did?”

At her school, Pagan said, the spirit of Mother Teresa is also pervasive. “There are a lot of her quotes lining the halls,” she said, and one of Mother Teresa’s quotes is the theme for this academic year: “I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot. Together, we can do great things.”

That particular quote helps to emphasize the importance of teamwork and community, she said, and will keep the school’s patron at the forefront of students’ minds.

Likewise, Zachariasen said her parish’s namesake has had a powerful impact on the community.

“Our founding pastor ... put into place [things] that have just stuck with us: What would Mother Teresa do?

“She has made a huge difference for our parish.”

Elisabeth Deffner writes from Orange, California.