Catholic Transcript Online

Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for the cause of Blessed Mother Teresa and superior general of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, answers a question for several Missionaries of Charity sisters during a presentation he gave on June 1 at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven. Blessed Mother Teresa founded both orders. (Photo by Mary Chalupsky)

NEW HAVEN – Father Brian Kolodiejchuk of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, postulator for the cause of Blessed Mother Teresa, told a gathering at the Knights of Columbus Museum on June 1 that her cause for canonization is "still waiting for one more miracle" to occur in order for her to be declared a saint.

With worldwide events now under way to mark the 100th anniversary of her birth on Aug. 26, Father Kolodiejchuk was in New Haven to talk about her life and mission as part of a current exhibit at the museum, "Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality and Message."

"So far, there hasn’t been one case that is strong enough to pass the medical board of the canonization of saints," he said. "But we’re still hoping and praying."

Father Kolodiejchuk also serves as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, the religious order of priests founded by Mother Teresa in 1984 now based in Tijuana, Mexico. He explained that "someone has to ask Mother Teresa’s intercession, then Mother Teresa has to intercede, God has to [perform] the miracle, someone has to report the miracle [meaning, it meets the test of being immediate, complete and enduring], and then we can continue with the process.

"We get thousands of reports of favors from people praying," he noted, "but so far, nothing that can be presented as a miracle."

Father Kolodiejchuk said that the legacy of the "saint of Calcutta" is to remind us of what it means be human – "that we are created for greater things, to love and be loved.

"She saw the value of every human being," he said, "and had a very deep, profound sense of the sacredness of the human being," an understanding "that every single human being is a child of God created in the image of God."

Relics of Blessed Mother Teresa were venerated June 2 by the faithful after Mass held at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The relics traveled June 7 to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City for veneration and a Mass that Father Kolodiejchuk celebrated.

The U.S. Postal Service has also announced that it will issue a stamp in August for her 100th birthday.