Impressions of Rome

Several Catholics from the Albany Diocese traveled to Rome two weeks ago to attend the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (see account beginning on page 1). On their return, two of them shared their thoughts with The Evangelist:

* Roberta Alexander, from St. Joseph's parish in Greenwich, went mainly to see Pope John Paul II but came home with a special devotion to Blessed Teresa.

"When I heard the Pope talk about Mother Teresa, it really was the most poignant moment for me," she said. "He talked about her life and how she was so completely devoted to the very poorest of the poor. He said that she taught people to start right where they are, at home, and to do the smallest things for them with great love."

Jammed in St. Peter's Square with hundreds of thousands of people, she and other pilgrims were unable to receive the Eucharist. After the ceremony, they found a small church that was offering a Philippine Mass and met up with a group of American students from the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

"It was so nice to see American students there," she said. "We were all so excited about being present for Mother Teresa's beatification. We saw people from all over the world -- Africa, Europe, even Asia."

* Mary Hans, a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Albany, decided to go because "I've worked all my life as a professional social worker where I have had to help others alleviate their stress or pain by clinical intervention. It occurred to me that Mother Teresa did similar work, but her intervention was love. For me, this added a whole spiritual level to social work.

"Pope John Paul II likened this work to that of the 'Good Samaritan.' I see her as very much a woman of the world, but one who was very humble.

"It was amazing to see so many people from different countries of the world. We were all there together, and I felt like we were all the same. This is the universality of our Church, what we are all about. There was a smile on everyone's face. It was absolutely beautiful!"

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