Mother Teresa: a biography

A CLOSE COMPANION
In 1937, Mother Teresa had taken on more responsibilities; she was put
in charge of the St. Teresa’s Primary School as well as Sunday school
classes for the children. During the war, she also took on the responsibili-
ties of headmistress when Mother du Cenacle became ill in 1944. That
she stayed in the city during the war made a tremendous impact on her
students, for it was Mother Teresa’s wish that the lives of the children not
be any more disrupted than necessary. The school may have been moved
to a different location for the time being, but Mother Teresa worked to
make sure that the children’s daily routine stayed as intact as possible.
It was during this period that Mother Teresa met a man who would
serve as her spiritual advisor and companion for the next 45 years. Father
Celeste Van Exem was a Belgian Jesuit who came to India in 1944. An ex-
pert in Arabic and the Muslim faith, he came to Calcutta with the specific
intention of working with the city’s Muslims. On July 11, 1944, he and
two other priests moved into a house in Baithakana, located not far from
Mother Teresa’s small community on Convent Road. When asked
whether he would celebrate Mass for Mother Teresa, Father Van Exem re-
called how he initially refused, stating that he was “called to India to work
A N S W E R I N G T H E C A L L
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for the Muslims and not for Sisters. I was a young priest who wanted to
work with intellectuals; I did not want to be busy with nuns.”
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The following day, though, Father Van Exem met with Mother Teresa.
His initial impression was of a very simple nun, concerned with the plight
of the poor, but for the most part unremarkable. However, Mother Teresa
came away with a much higher opinion of the priest, for not long after, she
asked him to become her spiritual advisor. Again, Father Van Exem de-
murred, saying that he had no desire to become a nun’s spiritual father and
that he considered the request a diversion from what he believed to be his
true reason for being in Calcutta. But he told Mother Teresa that she
needed to put her request in writing to the archbishop of the city. The arch-
bishop granted Mother Teresa’s request. In obedience to the bishop, Father
Van Exem reluctantly assumed the role of Mother Teresa’s spiritual father
and director. She would turn to him often for spiritual advice and direction.