Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Forty-two years ago, Mother Teresa, also known as St. Teresa of Calcutta, addressed the people of Louisville during a visit to Bellarmine College, now a university.

On June 22, 1982, more than 4,000 people gathered in Knights Hall. Some waited hours in line for one of the 2,000 tickets distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dr. Eugene Petrik, Bellarmine’s second president, invited Mother Teresa after traveling to India to give her the Bellarmine Medal. In his welcoming address, Dr. Petrik said: “This is a great day for Bellarmine. A great day for Louisville.”

Mother Teresa shared stories of her work in Kolkata with those who were dying and destitute. She also addressed abortion several times in her speech. "The unborn child today has become the target of destruction. The target of killing," she told her audience.

She asked them to make a resolution for Louisville: “So in this beautiful day, this beautiful city, let us make one resolution: that no unborn child will ever feel unwanted, unloved, uncared. Never allow that to happen,” said Mother Teresa.

Her listeners remained silent without showing dissent or disapproval.

Mother Teresa's visit came during a divisive time for the pro-life cause in Kentucky. Roe v. Wade had legalized abortion-on-demand nine years earlier in the U.S., leading to debates over abortion facilities' expansion in Kentucky.

In 1981, the EMW Women’s Surgical Center opened in Louisville but closed after Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022.

During a press conference at Bellarmine, Mother Teresa was asked why she involved herself with abortion issues: “We must all be concerned,” she answered. “Why are we all involved with the abortion? The unborn child is the poorest of the poor because they are the most unwanted."

In response to another question about life in the United States, she said: “I feel that the greatest disturbance that has come is the loss of the child in the family."

Videos and documentation of Mother Teresa’s visit can be found at Bellarmine University’s Thomas Merton Center or online at https://www.bellarmine.edu/about/mother-teresa/.