USD Magazine Fall 2016

The center of Mother Teresa’s ministry was service to the poorest of the poor. She recognized that they are the beloved of God.

H

er saga began more than 40 years ago. It was on a train to the Indian city of Darjeeling in 1946 that Sister Teresa, a young nun born of well- to-do Albanian parents, heard her call. “I was to leave the convent and help the poor whilst living among them. It was an order.” She wasted no time in follow- ing that order, opening her first school a couple years later on a bare patch of ground in the slums of Calcutta. From that humble beginning, this wee nun’s efforts have multiplied a thousandfold. Today, Mother Teresa’s Mis- sionaries of Charity and thou- sands of volunteers bring the basic necessities of life to the hungry, ill and homeless in 71 countries around the world. Her organization operates leper colonies, AIDS facilities, schools, soup kitchens and homes for the dying and destitute. The Nobel Peace Prize winner brought her simple message — that in serving the poor we serve God — to USD on May 31, 1988.

T

he small crowd gathered outside the University Center waited expectantly,

clutching cameras in anticipation of her arrival. They were ordinary- looking men and women who spoke quietly to each other in the bright sunlight. “She hasn’t crossed the border yet,” said a security guard sta- tioned outside the building.

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