We’ve recently highlighted how the Foundation’s Mission Fund, established to further the work of Saint Mother Teresa by administering to the poor and needy in God’s name, has provided 32 grants in 2022. We’ve been blessed in recent weeks to have two important works about Saint Mother Teresa gain national prominence, and I want to highlight both of them today.
Mother Teresa Film Back in Theaters November 2 & 3, 2022
“Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” recently premiered at movie theaters for two nights in early October. The box office totals for the two nights were such a success, the movie is returning again to theaters across the country on November 2 & 3. I was fortunate to see it with my father and my wife Kim a few weeks ago, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you can see it in your hometown next week!
In producing the film, the Knights of Columbus have given us an historic and important documentation of Saint Mother Teresa’s life. The film features footage from institutional archives and the many apostolates of the Missionaries of Charity. With interviews of those closest to her over the years, it beautifully tells of Mother Teresa’s life and ministry and how the Missionaries of Charity came to be.
I was impressed with the grand scope of the film’s storytelling, with footage of interviews with Missionaries and their good works from all over the world. I learned so much about Saint Mother Teresa’s perseverance, bravery and courage over many decades. You can read more about the beautiful film by clicking HERE, and here’s a great trailer for the film:
Trustee Jim Towey’s ‘To Love and To Be Loved’ Now Available!
One of the great interviews in the movie is with Steward of St. Peter and Mission Fund Chair Jim Towey, who has just published an amazing account of his work with Saint Mother Teresa, To Love and To Be Loved. Here’s a description of the book from the book’s official website:
To Love and Be Loved is a firsthand account of Mother Teresa’s last years, and the first book ever to detail her dealings with worldly matters. We see her gracefully navigate the opportunities and challenges of leadership, the perils of celebrity, and the humiliations and triumphs of aging. We also catch her indulging in chocolate ice cream, making jokes about mini-skirts, and telling the President of the United States he’s wrong. Above all, we see her extraordinary devotion to God and to the very poorest of His children. Mother Teresa taught Towey to be more prayerful, less selfish, more humble, less worldly, more in love with God, and less in love with himself. Her lessons are here for all to share.
Jim Towey showing his new book to Pope Francis
Saint Mother Teresa with Jim and Mary Towey’s family
Jim was a trusted advisor and personal friend of Mother Teresa for twelve years and was honored to be the lector for the first reading at her Mass of Canonization in Saint Peter’s Square. Jim met his wife, Mary, in Mother Teresa’s Washington, DC, AIDS home. He continues to provide pro bono legal services for the Missionaries of Charity.
The Papal Foundation is blessed to have Jim serving as the Mission Fund Committee’s chair, working alongside Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Trustee Patricia Flatley! He was the featured speaker at the Stewards’ dinner in Washington on Monday, December 5.