More than 500 people joined Walsh University to welcome special guest Sister Dominga, M.C., and formally celebrate its Honorary Alumna, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, on Wednesday, November 9. Sister Dominga has been a member of the Missionaries of Charity for 37 years and lived and worked with Mother Teresa. Currently, she serves at Gift of Grace House in Atlanta, a home that serves indigent women who have AIDS.
"At Walsh University we seek to instill in our students a commitment to being leaders in service to others. The Missionaries of Charity, which was founded in 1950 by Mother Teresa, is dedicated to helping the poorest of the poor, paying tribute to the legacy of one of the most selfless servant leaders in human history," said President Jusseaume. "We were blessed in 1982 to have Saint Teresa of Calcutta visit our campus, and we are blessed today to have a member of the order she founded here with us tonight."
Sister Dominga shared her personal memories of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and her insight into the life and inspiration of a woman who changed the world through service with the more than 500 people in attendance.
"I want to start out by saying that Mother, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, would not have wanted and could not have conceived, a celebration of her life and legacy apart from Jesus. For her, she was just a little pencil in his hand. And her own desire was not to resist that hand," said Sister Dominga. "She was once asked for a word of advice by a U.S. Archbishop, and she told him, 'let God use you without even consulting you.’ This is something that she herself did in such a radical and total way, that God was able to do amazing things in and through her, because she gave him that total freedom."
Those in attendance were also blessed with a First Class Relic of Saint Teresa by Father Thomas Cebula. The evening included special performances by the Walsh University Chamber Singers honoring the work of the Missionaries of Charity and an invocation by Monsignor James Kolp, who along with Jerry and Becky Pellegrino, was instrumental in bringing Mother Teresa to Walsh’s campus on June 23, 1982. With the canonization of Mother Teresa by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016, Walsh University has become one of a select number of Catholic universities in the world that can count a saint among its alumni.
"Jerry, Becky, thank you for helping to make that day happen. In Walsh’s history, it certainly is a tremendous milestone, and we are so grateful for that blessing and the work you did over the course of five years to bring Mother Teresa to Walsh University," said President Jusseaume. "During freshman orientation I tell our entering students that they are walking in the footsteps of a saint. Mother Teresa’s statue in our Prayer Garden beside our eternal flame honoring the unborn is a daily reminder that her presence lingers on campus and in our hearts."
During their two-day stay, Sister Dominga and Sister Justus attended mass in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel, visited and stayed with the Sisters of Sancta Clara Monastery and met with a group of students active in Walsh’s Campus Ministry. Support for this event was provided by J.W. Didado Electric, Gary & Rhonda Didado, and Tyler & Danielle Hysell.