College to Celebrate Canonization, 1982 Visit of Bl. Mother Teresa

As Thomas Aquinas College looks forward to His Holiness Pope Francis’ canonization of Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta on Sunday, members of the community recall fondly her visit to campus nearly 35 years ago. Having received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother came to the United States in 1982 to give three Commencement Addresses — at Harvard, Georgetown, and Thomas Aquinas College. “It was a singular privilege to have among us this ‘Saint of the Gutters,’” recalls President Michael F. McLean. “The warmth of her smile touched the hearts of all who encountered her.”

In honor of Bl. Mother Teresa’s forthcoming canonization, at the conclusion of Sunday’s 9:00 a.m. Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, Head Chaplain Rev. Paul Raftery, O.P., will bless a bronze bust of the new saint. The bust, which regularly resides in St. Bernardine of Siena Library, was a gift to the College memorializing her 1982 visit. Additionally, the College will present to all of its students and staff Miraculous Medals that have been blessed and placed on Mother Teresa’s tomb. These third-class relics are the gift of an alumna of the College, Sr. Marcella, M.C. (Maggie Isaacson ’86), who knew and worked with Mother Teresa as a member of her religious order, the Missionaries of Charity.

That afternoon, the College will show the following video of Mother Teresa’s 1982 Commencement Address, as well as a video of her remarks at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast, during which she gave an eloquent defense of the unborn — “the poorest of the poor” in an otherwise prosperous nation.

“We rejoice at the canonization of St. Teresa of Calcutta,” says Dr. McLean. “We pray that the Church’s newest saint will intercede for the College and its many friends in all their needs.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!