The optional memorial of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), beatified by John Paul II in 2003 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2016, is now included in the general Roman calendar. On February 11, 2025, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a decree to this effect, dated December 24, 2024, the opening day of the Jubilee.
The decree was signed by Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the dicastery in charge of liturgical matters. It states that Pope Francis, “accepting the petitions and desires of Pastors, Religious men and women, as well as Associations of the Faithful, and considering the influence exercised by the spirituality of Saint Teresa in different parts of the world,” has ordered that the name of the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity “shall be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar and her Optional Memorial shall be celebrated by all on 5 September every year.”
Concretely, this new memorial is to be included in all liturgical calendars and books. It applies to both the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. This involves adopting the liturgical texts included with the decree, which the Episcopal Conferences must duly translate and approve. The bishops will publish them only after definitive approval by the Dicastery for Divine Worship.
A response to popular devotion
Many priests have mentioned the memorial of Mother Teresa at Masses celebrated on September 5 since her canonization. However, the pope had not until now formally inscribed it in the universal liturgical canon, which does not necessarily include the most recent saints.
In an explanatory note, Cardinal Roche clarifies that Pope Francis took the initiative to make the liturgical commemoration of Mother Teresa an optional memorial “in response to the requests of bishops, religious and associations of the faithful.”
He explains that “considering the influence of the spirituality of Saint Teresa of Calcutta throughout the world,” the Pontiff “wished to propose her an outstanding witness to hope for those who had been discarded in life.”
“May the insertion of this celebration in the General Roman Calendar help us to contemplate this woman, a beacon of hope, small in stature yet great in love, a witness to the dignity and privilege of humble service in the defense of all human life and of all those who have been abandoned, discarded, and despised even in the hiddenness of the womb,” Cardinal Roche asks, following Pope Francis' request.
A religious sister with worldwide influence
Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje (the current capital of Northern Macedonia, then part of the Ottoman Empire). After having been a member of the congregation of the Sisters of Loreto, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Initially dedicated to caring for the poorest of the poor in India, her congregation has spread throughout the world. At the time of her death in Calcutta in 1997, it had branches in 123 countries.
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Teresa was a leading figure in charity and the defense of life. Her total opposition to abortion was particularly notable. She formed a strong bond with John Paul II, who beatified her in 2003, only six years after her death — an exceptionally short time.
Pope Francis canonized her in September 2016 in the context of the Jubilee of Mercy.
“Her mission to the urban and existential peripheries remains for us today an eloquent witness to God's closeness to the poorest of the poor,” he explained in his homily.
