Typed letter signed by Mother Teresa

Collection ID: PPR.001500
Type: Papers
Date: 1997
Geography: Calcutta (India)
Language: English
Medium: Printed on Paper
Dimensions: 3.8 × 4.25 in. (9.8 × 10.8 cm)
Exhibit Location: Not on View

This document has been considered a second-class relic by the Catholic Church since Mother Teresa was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta on September 4, 2016. In this typed letter, she references the shepherds in Luke 2, writing, “When Christ comes to you at Christmas, He may find in you a heart full of love, like that of the simple shepherds, who were the first ones chosen to see Christ.” On the back of this small letter is a printed picture of Mother Teresa holding a small child, which can be seen through the paper. The document was sent to Maria and Leah Pappas of Ogden, Utah, in early 1997.

Created before January 13, 1997, by Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta, India; Ownership assumed in 1997 by Maria and Leah Pappas, Ogden, Utah.[1] Acquired before 2005 by Alexander Autographs, Inc. (later Alexander Historical Auctions), Cos Cob, Connecticut;[2] Purchased in 2005 by Christian Heritage Museum, Hagerstown, Maryland; Privately purchased in 2010 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2017 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry) under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] Accompanying envelope—canceled in Miami, Florida, January 13, 1997—addressed to Maria and Leah Pappas, Ogden, Utah. [2] Alexander Historical Auctions provided no additional information.