Southern Nebraska Register
As Catholics around the world celebrated the feast of St. Teresa of Kolkata Sept. 5, the fifth-graders at St. Wenceslaus School in Wahoo marked the day in a special way.
St. Teresa of Kolkata – known as “Mother Teresa” in life – is the patron saint of the class. The 34 students are taught by Mrs. Tricia Meduna and Mr. Luke Walz.
“We started out by attending Mass in which the students participated by reading and serving,” explained Meduna. The school attends daily Mass in nearby St. Wenceslaus Church. There are 294 students at St. Wenceslaus, in grades Pre-K through sixth.
In celebration of their class patron, the fifth-graders also brought food donations and took them to the local food pantry.
“This was a great experience for the students to give back to the community like Mother Teresa would have,” she said.
Mother Teresa, who lived from 1910-1997, worked in Kolkata (then named Calcutta), teaching poor children and caring for the sick in their homes. She eventually founded the Missionaries of Charity, an order that cared for the poor and the forgotten. It grew from one house for the sick and dying to nearly 500 houses worldwide. Mother Teresa was recognized globally for her work, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
The staff at the food pantry presented information to the students, explaining how many families they take care of and how many pounds of food are needed each month.
St. Teresa of Kolkata was also known for taking the time to visit with the elderly, which led to the students’ next activity: visiting with residents at one of Wahoo’s nursing homes. The students stayed there an hour, having conversations with the residents and getting to know each other.
After lunch, a guest speaker, Bob Brandt, visited with the students in the classroom. Brandt, a former member of the parish and principal, now lives in Omaha. He had the privilege of visiting the Missionaries of Charities in India with Mother Teresa.
“He told the students many stories of his encounter there and his time with her,” Meduna said. “He also shared some advice of being a good leader and surrounding yourself with good people.”
The students concluded the day with a movie, “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love.”
Mother Teresa died Sep. 5, 1997 at the age of 87. She was beatified six years after her death, by St. John Paul II, Oct. 19, 2003. Pope Francis canonized her Sept. 4, 2016. In 2021, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to include her feast day in the liturgical calendar, as an optional memorial that could be celebrated in the Mass Sept. 5, the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death.
Courtesy photos
