After Pope John Paul II visited Mother Teresa in Calcutta in 1986, holding her hand and witnessing firsthand her Missionary of Charity sisters serving the poor, she later said it was the happiest day of her life. They became close friends, corresponding and visiting with each other. And three days before Mother Teresa would join that pope in being canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington unveiled a painting of the two friends and fellow saints.
“Their friendship helped them both grow in their love of Christ,” said Patrick Kelly, the shrine’s director during the Sept. 1 unveiling. “In Mother Teresa, John Paul II saw not just a friend, but an icon of the Good Samaritan, and a living embodiment of the Gospel of Life.”
The painting by Russian-born artist Igor Babailov, depicts St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta standing together, before 22 young children of different races and cultural backgrounds, with the girls wearing white First Communion dresses and the little boys also in white, with one toddler similarly attired. The pope offers a blessing, and Mother Teresa’s hands are folded in prayer. The painting, donated to the shrine by the artist, is called “CREDO” – the Latin word meaning to believe and follow.
The unveiling followed a Mass of Thanksgiving for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta celebrated by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, at the shrine’s Redemptor Hominis Church. Quoting the words of Saint John Paul II in his homily at Mother Teresa’s 2003 beatification, Archbishop Pierre said that pope noted that he was “personally grateful to this courageous woman whom I have always felt beside me. Mother Teresa, an icon of the Good Samaritan, went everywhere to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor.”
Noting how Pope Francis has warned of a growing “throwaway culture,” the nuncio asked, “Do we see each person as an icon, a sign of God’s love?”
Encouraging people to follow Mother Teresa’s example in bringing Christ’s love to the poor and forgotten, he said, “Wherever we are, we may be missionaries of charity, of God’s love.”
Members of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity attended the unveiling and reacted joyfully to the painting. “It’s fantastic,” said Sister Mareja, who serves at the order’s Gift of Peace home in Washington, where the sisters care for the poor, elderly, sick and homeless. She said the portraits of St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta captured their spirit. “That deep union with God shines forth in their faces,” she said. “I like that the children are in First Communion dress. It shows forth the purity that we all want to maintain, so we can enter into heaven. They’re two saints showing us the way to heaven, with children showing us the purity (of their) love for Christ.”
Michael Novak, the noted Catholic scholar and author, attended the Mass, and said afterward he had viewed the painting in progress. “I’m just thrilled with the way it turned out,” he said, noting it shows how holy people are drawn together in friendship because they recognize that quality in each other. Novak helped unveil the painting, along with Archbishop Pierre and the artist.
Babailov said he hoped his painting would inspire feelings of “love, peace and hope” in people who view it. “We live in a rough world. This painting is a painting of peace.” He said the little girl in the center holding a dove “is inviting people to follow in the footsteps of St. John Paul II and soon-to-be St. Mother Teresa.”
The artist, who is Eastern Orthodox, said of his painting, “It is definitely a work of faith… I see my mission to portray the beauty of God’s creation in all my paintings.” He said he worked on the painting off and on for a couple of years, and it was finished in time for Mother Teresa’s canonization.
He had noted that the children in the painting are based on actual people, and two of the models attended the unveiling – siblings Hanna and Riley Jones from Kansas. Hanna, who is 15 and is the model for the girl holding the dove, said she admires Mother Teresa’s selflessness. “I like that she helps everyone,” she said.
Riley, who is 16, said she liked that kids are in the painting with the two saints. “We’re the future. She (Mother Teresa) is inspiring us.”
(A first-class relic of Mother Teresa’s blood will be on display for veneration at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine between Sept. 3 and 11. On Oct. 22, St. John Paul II’s feast day, the shrine will host a World Youth Day reunion, a special Mass and the unveiling of a statue of St. John Paul II by artist Chas Fagan, who painted the official canonization portrait of St. Teresa of Calcutta. For information and updates, go to jp2shrine.org.)
