WORLD OF MOTHER TERESA, THE (TV)
Summary
This documentary, hosted by Joyce Davidson, is about the life and work of "the little, Albanian nun," Mother Teresa, who helps the hopeless in the slums of Calcutta. The program begins with her accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Then, Davidson joins Mother Teresa on a trip to India to study her work. Davidson tells how Mother Teresa left Yugoslavia and joined the Irish Sisters of Lareto, where she became principal. After 20 years there, she left to found her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, in Calcutta's slums. The move incited many to refer to Mother Teresa as "a madwoman." For research purposes, Davidson visits a leprosy center founded by Mother Teresa in a Calcutta suburb, where she wonders why people fear the disease so much while looking at afflicted patients. Then, Mother Teresa offers some caring words to the leprosy victims, speaking in Bengali. At the next stop, Mother Teresa meets with affluent members of the city, urging them to help the local leprosy victims by loving them. Then, Mother Teresa meets with the city's working people, during which a retired Englishman donates his home as a future orphanage. Davidson notes how Mother Teresa never solicits gifts or money, before she gives a speech noting how much God loves all his children. She also speaks out against abortion, suggesting that a mother who can't keep her baby should give it to an orphanage. Then, Davidson discusses what Calcutta was like when Mother Teresa first visited in 1929, before she moved into the city's slums in 1948. The program visits the first orphanage ("Children's Home") she opened in Calcutta, where she offers words of encouragement to the children. Next, Mother Teresa visits a Hindu rest home -- Nirmal Hriday, or "Pure Heart" -- which was donated to her and where the destitute now go before dying. From there, Davidson visits the headquarters of Mother Teresa's order -- the Mother House -- where nuns are trained by Father Bill, who calls Mother Teresa a "benevolent dictator." Davidson then meets with Mother Teresa before joining her on a three-hour ride to the jungle, where they try to solve the problem of a broken bridge. From there, they visit a small village where Mother Teresa donated part of her Nobel Prize money and where Hindu villagers salute her with great cheer and customary bows. Mother Teresa meets with a local priest and longtime friend who speaks to Davidson about his relationship with Mother Teresa, what it means to be a saint, and her winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. Next, Mother Teresa inspects the houses she commissioned to have built for the poor with the prize money, thinking them too expensive and hoping to build more for even less money. Then, Davidson interviews Mother Teresa back in Calcutta, touching on such topics as: why the world loves her so much; whether people try to "take" from her; why Davidson wanted to meet her; why some people suffer and others don't; why love "has to hurt"; why her past is unimportant; how many children she has helped in the world; and why she is a sinner. Finally, with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in attendance, Mother Teresa becomes the first European-born recipient of the country's highest honor, the Jewel of India.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: WQED / PBS
- DATE: January 12, 1981 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:44
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:38082
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Religion
- SERIES RUN: WQED - TV, 1981
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ann Petrie … Producer, Director, Writer
- Jan Petrie … Associate Producer
- Joyce Davidson … Host
- Father William Petrie
- Indira Gandhi
- Mother Teresa (see also: Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu)