Pope Francis cracks a joke about Mother Teresa’s energy

Mother Teresa of Calcutta – born GonxheBojaxhiu – originally from Skopje, was never fazed by anything, she “always spoke her mind,” even before the Synod assembly.

Pope Francis in his Albanian visit

India:  During his Albanian visit , the Pope told his interpreter about the time he met the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta at the 1994 Synod: “If she had been my superior I would have been scared.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta – born GonxheBojaxhiu – originally from Skopje, was never fazed by anything, she “always spoke her mind,” even before the Synod assembly.

The Pope confided this to the priest who was acting as his interpreter in Albania:revealed Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See Press Office, at a press conference in Tirana.

In his first European visit outside of Italy, Pope Francis visited the Albanian capital Tirana last Sunday.

The revival of Catholicism in Albania is due in part to the popularity of Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian born in neighbouring Macedonia. Albania, a Muslim-majority nation, renamed its only international airport in Tirana after Mother Teresa in 2001.

Describing the circumstances of his encounter with the Blessed woman who helped the poorest among the poor, the Pope said he met Mother Teresa at the Synod held in 1994. “She sat right behind me during the sessions. I admired her strength, the determinedness with which she spoke, never letting herself be fazed by the assembly of bishops. She said what she wanted to say…”

“If she had been my superior I would have been scared !” Pope Francis joked.

The Pope later called Albania an "inspiring example" of religious harmony.

Source: Vatican Insider