St. Mother Teresa CES celebrates name change
The community of St. Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School in Courtice gathered to celebrate the sainthood of its namesake and the changing of the school’s name on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017.
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Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who devoted her life to helping India’s poor, a saint during a canonization mass in the Vatican in September 2016.
The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board approved a name change, adding “St.” to the title of the school, to recognize the canonization in May 2017.
On Tuesday, Fr. Paul Patrick celebrated mass at the school and was later joined by Fr. Tomasz Koscinsk to bless a portrait of St. Mother Teresa, which will hang in the school.
“She sacrificially gave her life to serve those in the streets of Calcutta who everyone else pretended not to see – lepers, orphans, beggars, the sickest, the poorest, and those dying without any dignity and love,” principal Frank Bradica said. “What a privilege it is to stand before you to commemorate this special occasion. I am living every educational leader’s dream, to be able to work with such incredibly talented staff, in a wonderful school facility with the support of an amazing community of parents who entrust us with their bright and gifted children. I stand here humbled to be part of this St. Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School community.”
Clarington Trustee Linda Ainsworth brought greetings on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
“Your beautiful Mother Teresa has achieved sainthood. She loved God in all her heart and cared lovingly for the poorest of the poor. God bless all of you who teach and learn and play within these walls under the patronage of St. Mother Teresa,” Ainsworth said.
Director of Education Michael Nasello quoted Pope Francis, who said mercy was the “salt” that gave flavor to St. Mother Teresa’s work and the “light” that shone in the darkness.
“May St. Mother Teresa always be our model of holiness, our friend and our saint. It’s a great day today to celebrate and I’m so privileged to be here today,” he said.