priest in question immediately apologize to the superior for his criticism of
Mother Teresa and her work.
While Mother Teresa awaited the archbishop’s decision, she took an-
other very important step: she applied for and was granted Indian citizen-
ship. The act was a potent one, signifying not only her break with her
European roots, but a pledge to become one with the people she served.
By the end of 1949, the archbishop had become so supportive of Mother
Teresa and her efforts that he stated his willingness to recognize her group
as a congregation in his archdiocese. The final approval would have to
come from Rome, but the archbishop was willing to make the journey
himself and plead Mother Teresa’s case on her behalf. He planned to go to
Rome in April 1950 to present the Vatican with the necessary documents.
Now Mother Teresa struggled with a draft of the proposed order’s con-
stitution, which outlined the rules by which the nuns would live. She
wrote of her spiritual calling on the train ride to Darjeeling and outlined
the first three vows all would take when coming into the order: poverty,
chastity, and obedience. To these she added a fourth vow: “to give whole-
hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor,”^8 which would become
known as “our way.”^9 She also decided on a name for the new order: the
Missionaries of Charity.
She turned over her draft to Father Van Exem, who worked on it, tight-
ening up the language, as Mother Teresa’s grasp of English was not good.
Father Van Exem forwarded the document to a priest who specialized in
canon, or church, law. Then five copies were made and taken to the arch-
bishop who presented the documents to Cardinal Pietro Fumosoni-
Biondi, head of the Office for the Propagation of the Faith for the
Catholic Church. The Vatican accepted the constitution, even with the
fourth vow, which over time brought many to the order and quieted even
the most skeptical. On October 7, 1950, the church had a new congrega-
tion in its fold: the Missionaries of Charity, headed by Mother Teresa.
DRAWING ON THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE
The new constitution of the Missionaries of Charity may have been
polished by the priests of the church, but the document reflected the spirit
of Mother Teresa. In it, she not only outlined why she believed what she
was doing was so important and the specific vows for her new order, but
also some basic rules that the Missionaries of Charity continue to follow
today. She began by stating the goal of the order:
Our aim is to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus Christ for love
by the profession of the evangelical counsels and by whole-48 MOTHER TERESA