Mother Teresa's rapport with pope marked by friendship, admiration

Published: 2003-10-21

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta, he advanced the sainthood cause of a dear friend. Blessed Mother Teresa, the Missionaries of Charity founder beatified Oct. 19, and Pope John Paul knew each other before he became pope in 1978. In 1973, the two attended a eucharistic congress in Melbourne, Australia. In his private notes from that time, then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, mentioned that the presence of Mother Teresa at the congress, in a location close to the problems of the Third World, "was very significant; her congregation is actively involved in the problems of the poverty of that society." Early in his pontificate, the two had a relationship such that Mother Teresa was welcomed in 1982 when she arrived at Castel Gandolfo, the summer papal residence, and interrupted a conversation between the pope and an Italian youth organization. News clips over the years paint a picture of the pope and Mother Teresa's regular visits with each other, often with Mother Teresa leaving Rome with something she needed.

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