Plan trip to Rome for canonization

PHOTO | ALEXY GOTOVSKY/CNA

SOON-TO-BE SAINT  A mosaic of Blessed Mother Teresa, who will be canonized by Pope Francis on Sept. 4, is shown at the first European House of the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa in 1968 at Vicolo di Torre del Fiscale in Rome on the request of Pope Paul VI in 1966.

PARSIPPANY  With the canonization of Mother Teresa just a week away, Father Yohaneider Garcia, parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle here, has been spiritually preparing for the journey with a group of 10 pilgrims he will be leading to the Eternal City after visiting the Holy Land.

“We’ve been learning about Mother Teresa, who is a special person to the Catholic Church,” said Father Garcia. “This will be my first time attending a canonization and I am very excited.”

Father Garcia will be traveling with Father Dubernay Villamizar, parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish in Passaic, and the two priests hope to concelebrate the canonization Mass with Pope Francis on Sept. 4, which will be held outside St. Peter’s Basilica. The local pilgrims secured seats in a special section with the Missionaries of Charity, the order Mother Teresa founded.

The two priests, who originally went to seminary in Colombia to become Vincentian priests, spent a lot of time among the poor in their native country. Father Villamizar said, “Mother Teresa teaches us how to love and take care of the poor. She’s a great model for today’s society. Sometimes we tend to care too much about ourselves. About material things and there’s a lot of selfishness at times in today’s world. Mother Teresa reminds us to think about those who can’t dignify themselves.”

This will be the second canonization Father Villamizar will attend. He previously attended the canonization of St. Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. last September during the pope’s visit to the United States.

Because of this devotion to Mother Teresa’s works with the poor, when the two young priests learned about her canonization, they wanted to be part of history and be present in Rome. Father Garcia said, “This is a special moment for the Church. Everyone in the world knows who Mother Teresa was.”

Before traveling to Rome, the pilgrims from the Diocese will also visit the Holy Land and make a pilgrimage through the places Jesus’ lived, healed the sick and performed miracles. They are set to leave this Saturday and ask for the prayers of the faithful.

“With this journey, I feel blessed,” Father Garcia said. “We will be staying near the Sea of Galilee in the Holy Land where Jesus called his first Apostles and I feel that God is calling me again. I take with me many prayers on this spiritual journey.”