MCC sisters live to surrender

For more than 10 years, the Missionaries of Christ Charity, as the extended arm of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, continues its mission of serving infants and elderly in the diocese of Corpus Christi. 

The congregation belongs to the Archdiocese of Saigon in Vietnam. We live the spirituality of Mother Teresa Calcutta with perpetual public vows of charity, poverty, obedience and wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor.

The spirit of the Missionaries of Christ's Charity is one of total surrender, loving trust and cheerfulness, as lived by Jesus and Mary in the Gospel. Our charism is to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus Christ on the Cross for love of souls by the profession of the Evangelical counsels and whole-hearted and free service to the poor.

Our mission is to live the love of God in prayer and action in a life marked by the simplicity and humility of the Gospel; love Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine; love and serve God in the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor, both materially and spiritually recognizing in likeness of God; nurse the sick and dying destitute; gather and teach little street children and orphans; give shelter to the abandoned, elderly and homeless; attend to pregnant teenagers at Mother’s Love Home in Saigon; and go out to the spiritually poorest of the poor to proclaim the Word of God by our presence and spiritual works of mercy. 

In 1979, Archbishop Paul introduced and authorized a group of religious sisters led by Mary Frances Xavier Ha Thi Thanh Tinh to form the Missionaries of Charity and live the spirituality of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Archbishop Paul Binh invited Mother Teresa to visit the sisters in Vietnam. It wasn’t until 1991 that Mother Teresa was granted a visa to come. However, she could not visit Saigon but only Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. Her trip proved productive when the North Vietnamese Government met with her and allowed her and her sisters to come to minister to the poor in North Vietnam. 

Two years passed before Mother Teresa could return to Vietnam. On Nov. 5, 1993, Mother Teresa came to Vietnam for a second time with eight of her sisters from India hoping they would be able to serve the poorest of the poor in Vietnam. 

Mother Teresa came to visit the 20 sisters who lived in Saigon. She presided over the ceremony of giving the Constitution of the Missionaries of Charity. All 20 Vietnamese sisters were accepted into the Missionaries of Charity. 

Mother Teresa requested the Government to recognize the 20 Vietnamese sisters as aspirants of her congregation. She asked permission for seven sisters to leave for India where they could further participate in the formation of the Missionaries of Charity. Without any sign or explanation given, the Vietnamese government expelled Mother Teresa and her sisters from Vietnam.

Before leaving, Mother Teresa consoled the 20 Vietnamese sisters saying, “perhaps it was God's will. The seeds have been sown and one day you will reap the fruits.” 

In May 1996, Mother Teresa sent a letter to Bishop Nicolas Huynh Van Nghi, Apostolic Administrator, soliciting him to form a congregation for the Vietnam sisters, which would belong to the Archdiocese of Saigon. Bishop Huynh Van Nghi, along with Mother Teresa gave the Vietnamese sisters a new name. They were to be called the Missionaries of Christ's Charity. 

We closely follow the spirituality of Mother Teresa in our prayer life such as receiving daily Eucharist, spending quiet time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and joining other sisters in their community praising God in their daily prayer.

Following in the footsteps of Mother Teresa, its spiritual founder, the Missionaries of Christ's Charity share a humble beginning in a little home. Since then, it has extended out to eight other dioceses throughout Vietnam. 

In Corpus Christi there are 10 sisters who minister at two local parishes, closely working with the Vietnamese community and assisting at a nursing home.

Trusting in God's providence, Mother Teresa came to Vietnam hoping to spread the seed of faith and love among the poorest of the poor. Although her ministry was cut short, the seed of faith and love were planted and continue to flourish in Vietnam and throughout the world.