Recalling her steps

Catholics are expected to gather to venerate the relics at Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish on Columbia Road. Mother Teresa had visited the parish 15 years ago, when it was called St. Margaret’s.

“Usually when we’re talking about relics, they have belonged to people who lived 200 to 300 years ago,’’ said the Rev. Jack Ahern, pastor of the parish. “But this is a woman who so many people still remember. It’s a way for people to connect with someone who was holy.’’

Mother Teresa, who lived from 1910 to 1997, was an Albanian nun who is famous for her work with poor people in the slums of Calcutta. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, was beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003, and is now a candidate for canonization.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, an acquaintance of Mother Teresa, said in a statement yesterday that “the Archdiocese of Boston is blessed that Blessed Mother Teresa Parish, with the help of the Missionaries of Charity, is welcoming the relics of Mother Teresa, providing the faithful a very special opportunity to pray for Mother’s intercession.’’

“Over the course of many years it was my privilege to be with Mother Teresa on several occasions, as a young priest during my time teaching at Catholic University, as bishop in the West Indies, and in hosting her visit to the Diocese of Fall River,’’ he said. “Through the work of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother changed people’s lives for the better and brought about an increased awareness of the needs of the sick and the suffering. Her humble and prayerful concern for all people, especially the most vulnerable, and her steadfast commitment to the protection of the unborn, is her spiritual legacy to us.’’

Dorchester is the third stop for the relics, which are being displayed in dioceses where the Missionary Sisters of Charity, a religious order founded by Mother Teresa in 1950, is active. The public is being invited to view the relics from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. today at the church, and Ahern will celebrate a Mass at 5 p.m. The relics will then be moved to New Bedford, according to Sister Mary Ajay.

The items on display have a special meaning and message for Catholics, according to Cecilia Felix, the principal of Holy Family Holy Name School in New Bedford. Felix met Mother Teresa when she visited New Bedford in 1995.

The nun’s worn sandals are a physical representation of her journeys, but also remind parishioners of the importance of walking God’s path, Felix said. The crucifix, which Mother Teresa used to make her first vows and wore on her waist until she died in 1997, recalls the importance of staying true to one’s faith, she said. And the rosary, Felix said, is symbolic of the devotion Catholics have to Mary.

“Anything that’s a part of somebody is very special,’’ Felix said. “It’s the same as how people hold onto special mementos of someone who has passed.’’

Scituate resident Therese Redmond, 46, brought her niece, five children, and two of their friends to pray before the relics at the Sisters of Charity’s home in Dorchester yesterday. She said just being among Mother Teresa’s things was overwhelming.

Redmond and the children knelt before the relics and recited the rosary.

“I look at these little sandals and think if only I could be just a speck of what Mother Teresa was, her giving spirit and her humility,’’ Redmond said, wiping away tears.

“It’s amazing, because we’re all humans trying to get by and trying to please God, and just being with [the relics] makes you feel as if Mother is with you, and God is with you.’’

Marissa Lang can be reached at mlang@globe.com.