WASHINGTON – “Care for the poor and the suffering is at the heart of the mission that Christ gave the Church,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Today, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis has raised up a contemporary witness of that care, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, adding her to the Church’s calendar of feast days celebrated throughout the world.” 

Archbishop Broglio reflected on the news that the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has decreed the inclusion of Saint Teresa of Calcutta on the General Roman Calendar as an Optional Memorial on September 5. The bishops of the United States expressed broad support for this addition during their November 2023 plenary.

“Care for the poor and the suffering is at the heart of the mission that Christ gave the Church. Today, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis has raised up a contemporary witness of that care, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, adding her to the Church’s calendar of feast days celebrated throughout the world.

“The addition of Mother Teresa to the Church calendar is an occasion of joy for all Catholics and for our entire nation, whose elected officials proclaimed her an honorary citizen in 1996. Indeed, the impact of Saint Teresa’s words and deeds upon Catholics and non-Catholics has been profound, and the good and generous work carried out by her Missionaries of Charity is a testimony to her enduring importance in the life of the Church and the world. Especially timely is her witness of love for the poorest among us.

“May we listen anew to the words she spoke to our nation nearly thirty years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast: ‘Love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is not true love in me, and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.’”