Mother Teresa of Calcutta Statue
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Dedicated in 2009, this six-foot statue of Mother Teresa of Calcutta adorns Marquette University's campus. In recognition of her numerous good deeds worldwide, Mother Teresa was awarded the Pere Marquette Discovery Award in 1981. She visited the university that same year to accept the award in person. During the ceremony, she spoke in front of some 10,000 people, and thousands more watched on local access television.
Images
Photo courtesy of postmarq.tumblr.com
Photo courtesy of Cam Verbeke
Mother Teresa receives the Pere Marquette Discovery Award, 1981 (“Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries, MUA_006997)
Mother Teresa speaks at the podium during ceremonies related to the presentation of Marquette's Pere Marquette Discovery Award, June 1981 (“Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries, MUA_001134)
Mother Teresa stands behind a group of microphones during her time in Milwaukee , June 1981 (“Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries, MUA_001135)
Rev. Bruce Biever, S.J., escorts Mother Teresa and Sister Fatima, 1981 (“Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries, MUA_007692)
Photo courtesy of Cam Verbeke
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
On October 6, 2009, Marquette University dedicated a six and one half foot bronze statue of Saint Teresa of Calcutta on a site just a short distance from the Joan of Arc Chapel. The statue was crafted by Calcutta-born sculptor Guatam Pal, an international artist whose statues of Mahatma Gandhi adorn the parks of many cities worldwide (Including one at MacArthur Park, just east of the Milwaukee Courthouse). The statue was donated to the university by Vincent Kuttemperoor (CEO and President of VK Development, a real estate development firm based in Brookfield, Wisconsin) and his wife Geeta. Next to the statue is a plaque that features the following quote by St. Teresa: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” The plaque also lists the many accomplishments and accolades of St. Teresa, including the Pere Marquette Discovery Award, which was awarded to her when she visited the university in 1981.
Mother Teresa’s visit was part of the university’s centennial celebration. Although it took three years to convince Mother Teresa to accept the award, she finally agreed. The ceremony occurred on June 13, 1981, in front of a crowd of 10,000 people at the Milwaukee Auditorium. An additional 3,000 watched on closed-circuit television. During the ceremony, Father John Raynor, president of Marquette, gave a testament to the achievements of Mother Teresa. “Through her life and example, people of every country in the world have discovered that the light of God shines again in our time. She has discovered God in the poorest of the poor. Like Père Marquette, she does indeed map the unknown regions of man’s need to give and receive Christ’s own charity.” In keeping with her humble nature Mother Teresa accepted the award not on behalf of herself, but rather “the poor, the unworthy, the forgotten.” Beginning in 1997, the Roman Catholic Church began the process of canonization and named Mother Teresa a saint on September 4th, 2016.
Other recipients of the Pere Marquette Discovery Award include the crew of the Apollo 11 (Awarded in 1969), Reverend Karl Rahner (1979), The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tutu (2003), and the members of the Little Rock Nine (2010).
Sources
Jablonsky, Thomas J. Milwaukee's Jesuit University: Marquette, 1881-1981. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette UP, 2007. Print.
Marquette University Special Collections and University Archives
Marquette Wire. "Mother Teresa statue is 'visual reminder'." https://marquettewire.org/3754777/tribune/tribune-news/dedication-mg1-jm2-mn3-mother-teresa-statue-i...