Merged Dorchester parish named for Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who inspired millions with her dedication to the poor, will be honored by the Archdiocese of Boston, which plans to name a Dorchester parish after the Albanian-born nun.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church will be located at 800 Columbia Road, in the building now occupied by St. Margaret Church. The archdiocese is closing St. Margaret and the nearby St. William parishes on Aug. 31 and is creating one new parish, Blessed Teresa, to replace the two closing parishes.
"It's a big challenge to choose that name, because if we're representing Mother Teresa, that's a challenge to the community to say we need to be more like her and reach out to everyone," said Jim Dymek, a member of the Parish Council at St. Margaret. "Just think about the intersection of Columbia Road and Dorchester Ave. -- there are people at that corner asking for money every day. What can we do to help these people?"
The name for the new parish was one of several recommended by parishioners at St. Margaret and St. William parishes, Dymek said.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, had visited Dorchester twice, in 1988 and 1995, and her Missionaries of Charity religious order has a house on Quincy Street in Dorchester. Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley, who like Mother Teresa has taken a vow of poverty, met Mother Teresa several times and was a supporter of her work with the poor.
"Mother Teresa was the perfect imitator of Christ," said the archdiocesan spokesman, Rev. Christopher J. Coyne. "She emptied herself for the poorest of the poor, as Christ emptied himself on the cross. Her witness gives each one of us a modern way to be imitators of Christ."
The new name of the parish is reported in today's edition of The Pilot, the archdiocesan newspaper. The Pilot actually reported two versions of the parish name -- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta -- and archdiocesan officials could not clarify yesterday.
Former Boston mayor Raymond L. Flynn, who facilitated the move of the Missionaries of Charity into Dorchester, welcomed the decision, although he noted that the change may be hard for Dorchester residents who have long known their neighborhoods by parish names.
"I'm usually opposed to the changing of these names, but you need a permanent and lasting tribute to Mother Teresa, so I support this one," Flynn said.
Mother Teresa was beatified by Pope John Paul II last fall, earning her the title blessed. She is widely expected to be canonized in a few years, in which case the church would be renamed St. Teresa of Calcutta parish.
St. Margaret and St. William parishes are two of 82 being closed by the archdiocese this year, and Blessed Teresa Parish is one of seven being created to replace some of the closing parishes. Parishioners at St. William, which was established in 1909, plan to appeal the closing decision; parishioners at St. Margaret, established in 1893, have decided not to appeal.
Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.
