The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments released the decree inscribing St. Teresa of Calcutta in the General Roman Calendar, along with the liturgical texts to accompany her feast day on September 5.
Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, said, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was “a beacon of hope, small in stature but great in love, a witness to the dignity and privilege of humble service in the defence of all human life and of all those who have been abandoned, discarded and despised even in the hiddenness of the womb.”
The Cardinal Prefect released a comment with the decree inscribing St. Teresa of Calcutta into the General Roman Calendar.
The decree was accompanied by the liturgical texts (in Latin) to guide the faithful in praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of Mass.
Her feast day will be celebrated as an optional liturgical memorial annually on September 5, the date of her death in 1997.
Mother Teresa was born in Skopje on August 26, 1910 as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She professed solemn vows as a Sister of Loreto in Calcutta, India, in 1937. In 1950, she left the Sisters of Loreto to found the Missionaries of Charity, which now numbers over 6,000 sisters active in 130 countries who serve those most in need.
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, and Pope St. John Paul II beatified her on October 19, 2003.
Pope Francis canonized her on September 4, 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
In his comment released on Tuesday, Cardinal Roche said Pope Francis requested her insertion in the Roman Calendar in response to the requests of bishops, religious, and the lay faithful.
Official DECREE
On the inscription of the celebration of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin,
in the General Roman Calendar
“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mk 10:43). Radically living the Gospel and boldly proclaiming it, Saint Teresa of Calcutta is a witness to the dignity and honour of humble service. By choosing not only to be the least, but the servant of the least, she became a model of mercy and an authentic icon of the Good Samaritan. Indeed, for her, mercy was the “salt” that gave flavour to every one of her works, and the “light” that brightened the darkness of all those who didn’t even have tears left to shed over their poverty and suffering.
Jesus’ cry on the cross, “I thirst” (Jn 19,28), cut Saint Teresa to the quick. Thus, for her whole life she dedicated herself completely to satiate the thirst of Jesus Christ for love and souls, serving him amongst the poorest of the poor. Filled with the love of God, she radiated that same love in equal measure to others.
Canonized in 2016 by Pope Francis, the name of Teresa of Calcutta continues to shine out as a source of hope for many men and women who seek consolation amidst tribulations of body and spirit.
Therefore, Pope Francis, accepting the petitions and desires of Pastors, Religious men and women, as well as Associations of the Faithful, and considering the influence exercised by the spirituality of Saint Teresa in different parts of the world, has decreed that the name of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin, shall be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar and her Optional Memorial shall be celebrated by all on 5 September every year.
This new Memorial is to be inserted in all Calendars and Liturgical Books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, adopting the texts attached to the present decree, which must be translated, approved, and after confirmation by this Dicastery, published by the Episcopal Conferences.
All things to the contrary notwithstanding.
From the offices of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 24 December 2024.
Arthur Card. Roche
Prefect
+ Vittorio Francesco Viola, O.F.M.
Archbishop Secretary
The First Reading for the optional memorial Mass comes from Isaiah and relates to the “fast that is pleasing to God”.
The Gospel, he added, underlines the revelation of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to little ones.
The Liturgy of the Hours contains part of a letter Mother Teresa wrote to Fr. Joseph Neuner in 1960 about her struggle with what St. John of the Cross termed the “Dark Night of the Soul.”
“Opening her soul,” concluded Cardinal Roche, “she manifests the darkness of God’s absence through which she lived for many years yet joyfully offered to God, so that, bearing faithfully this trial, many souls may be enlightened.”
Sources: https://www.cultodivino.va/en/attivita/activities-2025/saint-teresa-of-calcutta-in-the-general-roman-calendar.html
https://www.cultodivino.va/en/attivita/activities-2025/inscription-of-s-teresa-of-calcutta-in-the-general-roman-calenda.html
Comments