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Heritage Talk: Eucharist and Mother Teresa
September 20, 2024 @ 5:15 pm

Easter Sunday 2024 marked the centennial anniversary of the celebration of the first public Mass held inside the National Shrine. The celebration of the inauguration of the liturgical life of this grand and noble votive church in honor of Mary, the Immaculate Conception, will be celebrated throughout 2024 and 2025.
Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., Ph.D., the former Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers and postulator of the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the director of the Mother Teresa Institute, will offer a talk entitled “Eucharist and Mother Teresa.” We invite you to join us in the Crypt Church following the 5:15 p.m. Mass on Friday September 20, 2024.
Following the event, the presentation will be made available for viewing on the National Shrine’s website and YouTube channel.
Fr. Brian and His Connection to Mother Teresa
On Sunday, October 15, 1972, in the Great Upper Church, Mother Teresa of Calcutta spoke after Mass. She was in Washington under the auspices of the Catholic Relief Services, New York. This was the first of several visits by Mother Teresa to the National Shrine. Her final visit was on December 8, 1995, two years before her death on September 9, 1997.
The 20-year relationship that Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, a co-founding member of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, had with Mother Teresa began five years after her first visit to the National Shrine (1977-97). After her death, Fr. Brian became the postulator for the cause of her beatification and canonization.
As part of this year-long celebration of the “100 Years of Worship” at the National Shrine, Fr. Brian will share his experiences of Mother Teresa and her understanding of Eucharist.
St. Teresa of Calcutta always connected the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and to His presence in the poor. As the Catechism of the Church states, “The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and the Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren,” (1320). This talk will present how Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity expressed their faith in the Eucharist and served Him in the poorest of the poor.
As one of the many who worshipped at the National Shrine, Mother Teresa also has the unique honor of being one of the saints of the National Shrine.
Books Edited By Fr. Brian Available At the Shrine Book Shop
Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta, by Mother Teresa, edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk M.C., (2007); in paperback (2009).
A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve, Mother Teresa; compiled and edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk M.C. (2018).