at me with the tender eyes of a saint, she said, “I have a great idea. Why don’t you go home and pray about this tonight and I will also pray. Then you come and see me tomorrow.” I went back to my hotel and prayed. The next morning after Mass, I informed one of the sisters that I had an appointment with Mother Teresa. She called me over to that familiar concrete bench, and within moments Mother Teresa was seated next to me.
Mother Teresa and the author share a personal moment at the Mother House in Calcutta. (1995)
She told me, “This work is very hard.”
I responded, “Yes, I know, Mother.”
Peering into my eyes, my soul, she continued, “You must have total commitment.”
“Yes, I am totally committed, Mother.”
She invited me to “come and see,” and I did. The journey continues today.
“Very well, then you come try the program ‘Come and See.’” I realized she was inviting me to become a nun.
“No, Mother, I am not here to be a nun; I am a journalist.”
“Oh yes, of course,” she said. And with that, she pulled out a pink piece of paper and wrote the date, the names of the homes, and the following short note:
Mother Teresa’s note, granting Linda Schaefer permission to photograph the work of the Missionaries of Charity. (1995)
Dear Sister,
Let Linda Schaefer take photos of the work.
God bless you,
Mother Teresa, MC
That piece of paper meant more to me than my diploma from New York University.
My future approach to photography would follow this pattern of responding to a call, not knowing what to expect but seeing with my heart that it was meant to be. That is how I responded to Mother Teresa’s insightful gaze at the Atlanta airport. She invited me to “come and see,” and I did. The journey continues today.
A view of the Bandra railway station in Mumbai, India. Crows perch on electrical wires in the midst of a colorful display of life in this city of over 18 million people. (2015)
Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, by Pope John Paul II. The author appeared on CNN for the live broadcast and had a bird’s-eye view of St. Peter’s Square, where approximately 300,000 people had gathered.
Beatification
Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. I joined a pilgrimage group from Charlotte, North Carolina, led by retired bishop William Curlin. The morning of the beatification, our group left the Hotel Michelangelo at 5:30 in order to be in line early, because of the anticipated enormous crowds. I met a producer from CNN near a magazine stand, and because I had been invited to appear live on CNN during the beatification, she took me to the rooftop of a building overlooking the square. I was able to stand near the edge of the roof with a stunning, bird’s-eye view of the morning’s events. I pulled out both my still photography camera and my small video camera in time to document Pope John Paul II being driven in a circle around the square before being helped to the microphone. His fragility at this time was all too clear, yet he spoke firmly and with great love of Mother Teresa, describing her as the icon of the Good Samaritan. As I leaned over the ancient Roman balcony, I felt compelled for the first time to join the Catholic Church. In fact, I would do so when I returned to Atlanta. My son and I joined the Church, and after fifteen years of attending Mass as a photographer, I went to Mass to pray.
A group of sisters gathers in St. Peter’s Square following the beatification of Mother Teresa. Religious brothers and sisters from all over the world were present on that momentous day. (October 19, 2003)
In a world grown increasingly attached to material things, Mother Teresa’s life and legacy provide a timeless example of how to follow Jesus.
On that October day in Rome, my tears were swept away by the wind, and once again I was completely mesmerized by how one tiny nun could make such a difference in my life and in the lives of millions around the world. Since that day, Mother Teresa has become my patron, and her presence in my life today is as important to me as it was when I first met her in 1995. In a world grown increasingly attached to material things, Mother Teresa’s life and legacy provide a timeless example of how to follow Jesus.
From my perch with other members of the press, I had an expansive view of the three hundred thousand people gathered in St. Peter’s Square that day. Seeing so many gathered to celebrate her life and example, I had a clearer understanding of how beloved she was to the world. My personal encounters with Mother Teresa had been so intimate and individual that it was almost mind-boggling to realize that I, along with hundreds who had been privileged to sit alone with her, would now have to share her with the rest of the world. Since the beatification, her tomb in Calcutta at the motherhouse has also become a pilgrimage center, and the Missionaries of Charity have also been called to open their community to the world.
• • •
Mother Teresa first heard the inner call from Jesus while she was on a train ride to Darjeeling, India, on September 10, 1946. He spoke to her in the intimacy of her heart and asked her to begin an unprecedented religious order committed exclusively to serving those most in need of assistance. Today, more than eighty years later, her charism still connects us to the most fundamental source of our faith. She lived to satiate the thirst of Jesus on the cross. She understood his suffering and saw him in each person she picked up off the street or found on her doorstep. Mother Teresa’s commitment to this mission was so deep that the Missionaries of Charity even add a fourth vow to their profession: They commit to poverty, chastity, and obedience, and to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.”
Religious sisters and brothers from multiple orders were among the 300,000 gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica for the beatification of Mother Teresa.
Author in St. Peter’s Square for the beatification of Mother Teresa.
Crowds swarmed St. Peter’s Square during the beatification.
Mother Teresa taught us how to serve those most in need with our hearts and with our hands.
Mother Teresa never had any physical children of her own, but people of all faiths and nationalities considered her
