By Francis Sunil Rosario
Kolkata, March 19, 2022: The charism of the Missionaries of Charity is unique. Down the line right from Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Kolkata, and her successors late Sisters Nirmala Joshi and Mary Prema have contributed immensely to the crucified Christ in suffering humanity during the past 72 years.
God has led them to various parts of the world, making them a global religious congregation. The dimension of the crucified Lord, and invitation to satiate the thirst of the suffering humanity is their specific charism and mission. To execute this particular charism one has to be deeply united in spirit and to be immersed in the life of Jesus Christ. “It is no longer I, but Christ lives in me,” “Cling to Jesus,” Mother Teresa would say all the time.
The Missionaries of Charity essentially live the reality of the Paschal mystery of Christ. That is their strength. Their congregation is not a political body but part of the Church, the body of Christ, that serves Jesus in the poorest of the poor and those most deprived. For them it does not matter who becomes superior general. The leader has to be deeply united with Jesus in every way. “I am the vine, you are the branches” that’s what the Teresa nuns are called to become.
Mother Teresa introduced the new charism when the Spirit was moving the Church into new direction. She felt during those years of ‘inner call,’ that she had to come out of the ‘comfort zone’ and to step out into the muck, dirt and filth of slums of Calcutta. She had to serve the social rejects living in the streets, the old, the dying and those innocent infants found in the bins. The Teresa nuns pick them one by one and create a safe place for them to find meaning in life.
The emergence of the Second Vatican Council and the new insights gained during those sessions (1962-1965) gave birth to a New Pentecost in our postmodern times. Those insights further motivated Mother Teresa to reach out to the poor and suffering, wherever the Spirit led her and found homes and safe places for them.
The superior general Sister Mary Joseph is a native Indian. An Indian leader could be an advantage for the Missionaries of Charity in the present geo-political scenario. After all, the roots of the congregation are in Indian subcontinent.
Sister Nirmala’s upbringing had been in Ranchi (Jharkhand) and educated in the Indian system, being a lawyer. She chose to be a contemplative within the Missionaries of Charity, which she headed until the congregation elected her to be the superior general. In her own style, she developed the contemplative dimension to their active involvement in satiating the thirst of Jesus Christ in the poorest of the poor.
For the missionaries of Charity, the leader should transcend her geographical boundary and belong to the world of humanity where various forms of suffering inflicted on people due to war, injustices and environmental disasters, famine, floods, earthquakes and cyclones. Unless the leader is fully immersed in Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, it will be difficult to execute all that the congregation would like to achieve through their wholehearted commitment and selfless service to Christ.
For Sister Joseph taking over the leadership at the present scenario will certainly be challenging. Being an Indian, she has an advantage in India. She has the experience in the administration as assistant general when Sister Prema who led the congregation during 2009-2015.
In the past decade, the congregation has faced a few allegations on conversion particularly. The Missionaries of Charity sisters do not convert anyone as a matter of their policy in mission. Any conversion is God’s work, they believe. They serve the poorest of the poor irrespective of their background or religion. They try to alleviate the pain and suffering caused to them due to many socioeconomic reasons, and deprivations. The nuns come as a balm to their wounded humanity.
Sister Joseph will have to make the administrative system more transparent. Since the congregation plays a significant role through their specific charism she has to focus on gaining skills in administration on building result-oriented networking communication and to be media friendly.
I am sure, Sister Joseph will carry the legacy forward not only in India but also globally as this congregation has wings in all four corners of the world. She carries with her the rich experiences of being formator, novice mistress, superior of convents and regions both in India and overseas.
May God be with her in her many dreams and endeavors. St. Teresa of Calcutta will certainly assist her in every way to accomplish what God wants from the congregation in our turbulent times and to accomplish the goals sisters have in giving witness to Lord Jesus Christ.
(Father Francis Sunil Rosario is a priest of the archdiocese of Calcutta. He was the former editor of The Herald, the archdiocesan weekly.)