Commemoration of Mother Teresa

On Tuesday 14 November 2023, in the magnificent setting of the Church of Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli in Rome, the commemorative event "Mother Teresa: An Ever-Living Message" was held, sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of North Macedonia to the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in collaboration with the Promotional Committee of the International Inter-University Conference "Women in the Church: Builders of Humanity".

The evening began with the Eucharistic celebration presided over by H.E. Cardinal Angelo Comastri, linked to the figure of Mother Teresa by a filial bond and many moments of shared life. "I met a saint. Mother Teresa of Calcutta" - the book that Ravasi brought to press in 2016 - was born of experience, acquired at her side. In his homily, brief and concise but heartfelt, he recalled her on several occasions, praising her humility - a gift that awaits in a world where conflict reigns - and the meeting in Rome in 1979, where Mother Teresa silenced, with the delicate firmness that characterises her, a journalist who had hurled a provocation at her.

Several personalities took turns at the microphone. First of all the institutional greetings, entrusted to representatives of ecclesiastical and civil institutions: H.E. Marija Efremova, Ambassador to the Holy See; H.E. Fatmira Isaki, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia; H.E. Mgr Kiro Stojanov, Bishop of Skopje and, lastly, the parish priest Rev. Father Davide Carbonaro. But also scholars and artists, who have dedicated their literary work - such as Professor Jasminka Mironski, author of the book "Svetilkata se ušte gori", a biography of the saint - or her artistic production, as in the case of Miftar Memeti: his is indeed the series of portraits of Mother Teresa installed in the vestibule of the church.

The institutional greetings included the speech of Prof. Fermina Alvarez, Representative of the Organising Committee of the International Inter-University Conference entitled "Women in the Church: Builders of Humanity" which will be held on 7 and 8 March 2024 at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and of which this event is part of the preparatory path. The Albanian saint will, in fact, be one of the female figures at the centre of the conference, which will consist of two dense days of study focusing on female holiness in the Church. The theory of the saints presented in each panel will help to analyse the theme of holiness today through the characteristics of each. Mother Teresa's panel will be entitled "Quenching the Thirst for Jesus".
"Our purpose is to make everyone discover that Jesus exists, that he died and rose again for our salvation," Alvarez said. An evangelising intention, then, that has as its medium these extraordinary female figures who have dotted the history of our Church.

Cardinal Ravasi's contribution was valuable; he did not fail to recall Mother Teresa's childhood, underlining the role played by the family in her human formation, first, and vocationally, later. The example of her parents - their constant proof of love, their continuous dedication to the poor and less fortunate of Skopje - instilled in the saint the love of her neighbour, and therefore of God, leading her to make it her life's mission, to realise her "call within a call".

More events are planned in preparation for the Inter-University Conference: the next one is scheduled for 5 December 2023 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. It will be an afternoon of studies on the figure of Saint Josephine Bakhita: her testimony and the relevance of her message.