The Missionaries of Charity: ‘He reminded us that Jesus sat with sinners’

From Calcutta, the superior of Mother Teresa's sisters remembers Pope Francis. ‘He made the Church refocus its attention on the marginalised’. Bergoglio wanted the Missionaries of Charity to open a new home in Bajo Flores, a slum in his hometown in Argentina. His last meeting with them was the day before he was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital: ‘He told us: thank you for your vocation.’

Calcutta (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis had great veneration for Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her choice to dedicate her life to the least among the least. This is one of the reasons why the news of her death was received with particular emotion by the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order of sisters in blue and white saris who continue the work begun by Mother Teresa in the suburbs of every continent. Below is the message of condolence for the death of the pontiff sent to AsiaNews by the superior of the Missionaries of Charity, Sr. Mary Joseph.

Together with the universal Church, we Missionaries of Charity mourn the death of this great pontiff, Pope Francis.

He was a man with an evangelical vision. The way he made the Church refocus its attention on the marginalised, migrants and refugees reminded us of Jesus sitting with tax collectors and sinners. He wanted a Church that welcomed everyone, without discrimination. He encouraged us missionaries to go to the peripheries of society. To seek out the ‘lost’, to smell the sheep.

That is why he asked us to open a new mission in Bajo Flores, a large shanty town in Argentina, near his hometown of Flores. It is a place of drug addiction, violence and gang warfare. Our house is in the middle of this shanty town and sometimes bullets fly through our windows.

In February, we had an unforgettable meeting with the Holy Father in the Vatican. I was there for a meeting with the regional superiors, then we went to the general audience, followed by a brief meeting with the Holy Father. He kept saying to us in his faint voice: ‘Sisters, thank you for your vocation and mission. You know that the Pope also has your community in the Vatican. Your vocation is good!’ He kept repeating this several times with both hands raised. He also said, ‘Sisters, go forward, go forward....’ We were moved to tears.

He had such enthusiasm for the mission. It was a great encouragement for us. The next day we learned that he had been admitted to the hospital.

* Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity

(with the collaboration of Nirmala Carvalho)