Mother Teresa: a biography

A RELUCTANT APPROVAL
While Mother Teresa was away from Entally, Archbishop Périer made
several inquiries about her. Keeping her identity a secret, he spoke with
Father Julien Henry of St. Teresa’s Church, who also served as the pastor
of St. Mary’s Church in Darjeeling and was a teacher of theology. The
archbishop carefully asked Father Henry what he thought of a European
woman dressed in the traditional sari of Bengali women, working among
the poor and dying in the city. The two also discussed whether she could
succeed and if such a new order would draw in young women to serve.
Then there were political questions to be considered: what would the re-
action of the public be to such an idea, when already there were individ-
uals trying to help the poor?
Father Henry believed that the archbishop’s proposal was, in theory,
possible. At the very least, it was a gamble, but Father Henry told the
archbishop it was a gamble worth taking. Excited at the prospect of some-
thing being done for the poor of Calcutta, Father Henry even asked his
congregation to pray for the success of such a program. But little did he or
anyone else realize that the person behind this idea was Mother Teresa.
The archbishop was not finished. In addition to speaking with Father
Henry, the archbishop sought the advice of the father general of the Soci-
ety of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), who in turn asked the provincial in India
for his thoughts. The archbishop also sought counsel from a specialist in
church law.
There was another difficulty to be considered as well. The Vatican did
not look favorably on the unnecessary growth of religious vocations for
women. As it was, there were already too many small orders of nuns. A
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bishop applying for a new congregation had to demonstrate that the ex-
isting orders did not do the work for which the new one was being estab-
lished. In Calcutta, the order of the Daughters of St. Anne, with whom
Mother Teresa had worked while at the Loreto school, already ministered
among the poor. They also dressed in Indian style, slept in a dormitory, ate
simple food, and spoke Bengali. How would Mother Teresa’s new congre-
gation be different?
The archbishop asked Mother Teresa if she could work with the
Daughters of St. Anne. Mother Teresa did not think so. The Daughters
had their own way of doing things and their own traditions. What Mother
Teresa was proposing was quite different. Her congregation would be more
mobile; they would visit the poor where needed. And she did not want
just to work among the poor; she made it clear that she intended to work
among the “poorest of the poor.”
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She also wanted to start from scratch
and train her novices in her own way.
An entire year passed before the archbishop was satisfied with the in-
formation he had received. Only then did he give permission to Mother
Teresa to write to the mother general of the Loreto Sisters, asking for per-
mission to be released from the Order. In the letter that Father Van Exem
typed for her, Mother Teresa explained her reasons for seeking her release:
she wished to continue her vocation among the poor. In asking the
mother superior to leave, Mother Teresa requested 
exclaustration,
which
simply meant that she would continue to live by her vows but would serve
as a Loreto Sister in a new setting.
However, when the archbishop read the letter, he insisted that Mother
Teresa change 
exclaustration
to
secularization.
To be secularized meant that
Mother Teresa would no longer be a member of the Loreto Order, but she
would continue to honor her vows as a nun. Having to leave the Loreto
Order was a severe disappointment, but as Archbishop Périer explained,
she was to trust God fully and send the letter.
With a heavy heart, Mother Teresa posted the letter to the mother gen-
eral in Rathfarnham in early January 1948. Less than a month later, she
had her reply:
Since this is manifestly the will of God, I hereby give you per-
mission to write to the Congregation in Rome and for the in-
dult. Do not speak to the Provincial. Do not speak to your
Superiors. Speak to nobody. I did not speak to my own coun-
selors. My consent is sufficient. However, do not ask for the in-
dult of secularization, ask for the indult of exclaustration.
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The mother general could not have sent stronger support. Both Mother
Teresa and Father Van Exem were overjoyed with the response. Mother
Teresa now wrote another letter, this time to the office of the Vatican in
Rome. Although the mother general told her to consult no one, Mother
Teresa again gave the letter to Father Van Exem, who in turn gave it to
Archbishop Périer. The archbishop again stipulated that if the letter was
to be sent to Rome, Mother Teresa include her request for secularization.
Despite her fears about having to leave her religious order, Mother Teresa
was more worried about how to write to a cardinal. She asked Father Van
Exem for help; he simply replied that a “Dear Father” would suffice and
not to worry about titles, but to state her case clearly and simply. Finally
in February 1948, she sent the letter to Rome. In addition to Mother
Teresa’s request, Archbishop Périer also included a letter that outlined her
life and service in Calcutta.
Weeks and then months went by with no response from Rome. Finally
in July 1948, Archbishop Périer summoned Father Van Exem to his office.
He had received news from the Vatican that very afternoon. Rome had
granted Mother Teresa’s request for exclaustration. She would be allowed
to remain a member of the Loreto Order and work outside of the convent.
It was a wonderful victory for Mother Teresa and a vindication of the very
principals that the Loreto Sisters’ founder, Mary Ward, had been denied.
There was, however, one condition: Mother Teresa would remain outside
the cloister for a year, at which time, the archbishop would review her
progress and decide whether she would return to the convent.
The archbishop also made it clear to Father Van Exem that the news
from Rome was not to be given to Mother Teresa until after the school
week was completed. Despite Mother Teresa’s appeals to be told of the de-
cision, the archbishop was adamant: she would be told the following Sun-
day. An elated Father Van Exem agreed to the archbishop’s request.
On Sunday, August 8, 1948, Father Van Exem arose as usual and cele-
brated mass in the chapel at the Loreto convent. Following his usual cus-
tom, he gave the first sermon in Bengali, and then, after mass was
concluded, another sermon in Hindi. He then asked Mother Teresa to meet
with him in the convent parlor. When she arrived, he told her that he had
received news from Rome. According to his account, Mother Teresa turned
pale and requested to go to the chapel to pray. When she returned, he gave
her the good news: not only did Rome agree to her request to leave the con-
vent, but also that she continue her life as a Loreto Sister. She then signed
three copies of the permission: one for Rome, one for the archbishop, and
one for herself. She then asked, “Can I go to the slums now?”
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