Celebrating Mother Teresa: A Saint of the Poor

Celebrating Mother Teresa: A Saint of the Poor

"How many men and women of faith have found mediators of light in those who suffer! So it was with Saint Francis of Assisi and the leper, or with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her poor." - Pope Francis, Encyclical letter Lumen fidei 57

On September 4, Pope Francis will celebrate a canonization mass in which Mother Teresa will be formally recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. On September 25, USD will host a special musical celebration in her honor (see details below).

Video from the CATHOLICISM series by Word on Fire & Picture Show Films. Used by the University of San Diego with permission. For more from this series, visit www.CatholicismSeries.com.

Mother Teresa has long been recognized as an exemplary witness to the Christian Gospel, living a life in radical service of the poorest of the poor. To this day, the order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity, continue to live out that mission of service througout the world. "Any man, woman or child that nobody wants, let them come to the sisters. We want them," Mother Teresa had told reporters at the founding of the mission house in Tijuana, Mexico in 1988. That same year, Mother Teresa also made a brief but memorable stop at the USD campus, where she spoke at Torero Stadium to a crowd of more than 5,000. 

Saint Mother Teresa: A Musical Celebration in Honor of Her Canonization

All are welcome to join a special musical celebration to honor the canonization of Saint Mother Teresa. The program takes place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 in USD's Founders Chapel.

The world premiere of Poorest of the Poor: Music for Mother Teresa, composed by Dr. Thomas Bough of Northern Illinois University, will be performed by the USD Wind Ensemble, Dr. Jeffrey Malecki, conductor, along with the USD Chorale Scholars, Dr. Emilie Amrein, conductor.

The program will also include discussion of Mother Teresa's life and about poverty in India. A reception will follow.

For more information, please contact the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at cctc@sandiego.edu, 619-260-7936, or visit https://www.sandiego.edu/cctc/events/mother-teresa.php