to explain his or her case. If the religious is humble, obedient,
dutiful the impulse may come from God.^3Despite his open-mindedness, Archbishop Périer was not only against
the idea of a lone nun living among the poor on the Calcutta streets, but
he was also alarmed that one of his priests was apparently treating the
idea with some seriousness. Soon after his meeting with Van Exem, the
Archbishop ordered Mother Teresa transferred to Asansol, a city located
about 175 miles northwest of Calcutta. Here, she was to maintain the
kitchen as well as the garden; she would also continue teaching geogra-
phy. Father Van Exem then cautioned Mother Teresa to say nothing
more of her plans for the time being. The two kept up regular correspon-
dence by mail.
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
A NEW DIRECTION AND A NEW JOURNEY 31