Birthday to Remember

The celebration of Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday in New York Aug. 26 combined prayer and protest, reverence and righteous indignation—though not at the same time.

Archbishop Dolan celebrated a joyful Mass of remembrance in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at midday attended by hundreds including many of Mother Teresa’s sisters, the Missionaries of Charity.

In the evening, about 3,000 persons gathered on 34th Street in front of the Empire State Building to protest the refusal of owner Anthony Malkin to light the building’s upper floors in blue and white, the color of the Missionaries of Charity habit, to honor Mother Teresa.

The hourlong protest, which was lively but peaceful, was sponsored by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and was led by its president, William A. Donohue. Among the messages on signs carried by protesters was “Why dim the lights on a woman who lit up the world?”

In the South Bronx, the Missionaries of Charity at St. Rita of Cascia parish held an evening holy hour in the parish church, followed by Mass and a candlelight Eucharistic procession around the block. The convent at St. Rita’s is the first one Mother Teresa established in the United States.

At the cathedral, Archbishop Dolan said that the best way to honor Mother Teresa was by gathering at Mass “to thank Almighty God” for her life and work.

“The Mass was the core, the heart, the center of her life,” he said in his homily.

About 700 attended, including 100 Missionaries of Charity, and the archbishop welcomed them in his own name and that of Cardinal Egan, who presided.

Recently the sisters sent out a mailing asking each of their co-workers and benefactors to promise to say 100 rosaries for one of the five intentions closest to Mother Teresa’s heart. (CNY, Aug. 26). The prayer promises were to be written on a paper “candle” and returned to the sisters to be placed on Mother’s birthday cake. At the offertory, a sister announced the tally: 10,500 rosaries for priests; 8,700 rosaries for priestly and religious vocations; 8,600 rosaries for conversions; 22,200 rosaries for families; and 10,500 rosaries for an end to abortion.

A large photograph of Mother Teresa, smiling joyously, stood in the sanctuary. As the tally of rosaries was announced, thick white candles with blue stripes were placed in front of the photograph, one for each of the five intentions.

Archbishop Dolan remarked that Mother Teresa “might be a little unhappy with us” because she didn’t like attention to be drawn to herself. But he added that she would be happy because “she would rather that we gather to celebrate not her entrance into earthly life…(but) to celebrate her entrance into eternal life.” Mother Teresa died on Sept. 5, 1997.

Her focus on the life to come did not mean that “she wanted to escape this life,” the archbishop said. On the contrary, it made her serve God and others with more fervor. Asked how she could touch and embrace and care for those who were ill and covered with filth and sores, he said, she replied, “When I look at them, I see the face of God.”

Sitting in a wheelchair in front of the first pew was Sister Dorothy, M.C., who was the fourth young woman to join the Missionaries of Charity when they were newly established.

“I am grateful to Mother for helping us to love Jesus more tenderly in our life, and to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor—which I would never have thought of before, but through Mother, we came to realize,” she told CNY.

At the end of the Mass, two Missionaries of Charity sang a hymn composed for the celebration. Joseph Gomes, 12, sang a hymn in Bengali in traditional style. Born in Bangladesh, he lived in a home operated by the sisters until he was adopted by a couple in Bangladesh; the family now lives on Long Island.

Attending the Mass was Bernadette Coomaraswamy, who was a Co-Worker of Mother Teresa. Mrs. Coomaraswamy, who is American and lives in Connecticut, was Mother Teresa’s attorney in the United States.

“Whenever I complimented Mother and said, ‘Oh, you’ve done so much for me,’ she always said, ‘No, there’s only One who does things,’ ” Mrs. Coomaraswamy said. “When you went to visit Mother, she brought you immediately to Jesus, because she was a conduit.”

At the protest that evening, the crowd stretched along 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues across from the Empire State Building. Some held posters with Mother Teresa’s image and small statues depicting the beloved nun.

Donohue, the Catholic League president, addressed the crowd from a podium set on a flatbed truck.

“We all know Anthony Malkin owns the Empire State Building financially,” he said, “but I’ve got news for him. It’s New Yorkers who own the memories.”

Donohue and the Catholic League had submitted the application for special lighting in February, and the request was denied in May.

Lighting guidelines on the building’s Web site say, “The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings. Outside of its tradition of lightings for the religious holidays of Easter, Eid al-Fitr, Hanukkah and Christmas, the Empire State Building has a specific policy against lighting for religious figures, religious organizations and additional religious holidays.”

Donohue said the prohibition on religious figures was added after his request was made, and he noted that the building has been lighted for events as diverse as home team World Series victories, the death of Pope John Paul II, the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and even the DVD release of “The Simpsons Movie.”

Seventeen speakers at the early evening rally competed to describe Mother Teresa in glowing terms as a global humanitarian and to criticize Malkin. They included New York state senators, New York City Council members and representatives of the Hindu, Jewish and Albanian communities.

The first of the speakers, blunt-talking Jewish comedian Jackie Mason, asked, “Is the light only for atheists?”

Among those in the crowd, Christina Cacioppo, 21, of Brooklyn, told CNY that she was happy to be a part of such a special day and to see people so passionate about a good cause.

“I’m very mad at the way Mother Teresa is being treated. She was not just a religious figure but a symbol of human kindness,” she said. “She was an example of extraordinary human potential, and she served all people—not just Catholics… I look up to her.”

Other places in New York, including merchants in Times Square and the USS Intrepid Museum, were lighted in blue and white in recognition of Mother Teresa.


Catholic News Service contributed to this article.