I had wanted to see the new Mother Teresa exhibit in Ave Maria since it opened on April 2. After some good news at work, I walked downstairs and headed down the block toward the exhibit to make an act of thanksgiving to God. And I am so glad I did. The exhibit was very moving. For anyone who felt Mother’s absence when she left this world it will be hard not to well up with emotion at every information panel in the exhibit.

What a gift it is to have here in Ave Maria Mother’s powerful no-nonsense no-frills hard-core witness to the love of Christ. It was a profound 15 minute Lenten pilgrimage with a woman whose quiet life of sacrificial love remains an inspiring testament to the Gospel. Of course it could take well over an hour to take in all the details of the exhibit.

The next day when I thanked AMU’s president Jim Towey, whose friendship with Mother Teresa has made this exhibit possible, he explained that much of the information and many of the photographs and historical anecdotes are not well-known in the United States. That was my experience – for instance, I had never seen this image of Mother Teresa as a young woman.

The bi-lingual (displays are in English and Spanish) exhibit is right in the heart of Ave Maria and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week and Noon to 4 p.m. on weekends. A visit to the exhibit is a true pilgrimage and it is well worth making.