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Brian Kolodiejchuk

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    Born in Winnipeg, Canada
    Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, Ph.D.
    Senior Missionaries of Charity member
    Association with Mother Teresa began in 1977, until her death in 1997
    Joined the priestly branch of Mother Teresa’s religious family, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, in 1984
    Ordained to the priesthood in the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist in Newark, New Jersey (June, 1985)
    Appointed Postulator of the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (March, 1999)
    Appointed director of the Mother Teresa Center, devoted to the cause of Mother Teresa's canonization, in June of 2004
    Provided the editorial commentary for the controversial publication, 'Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light' (Doubleday, 2007)

Why he might be annoying:

    His last name is painfully difficult to pronounce...
    He published his mentor's private writings after her death, even though she made clear she didn't want them made public.
    His publishing of the private letters renewed controversy as to whether or not Mother Teresa was worthy of Sainthood 'because she had doubts' about God's existence and/or the purpose of her mission.
    This included granting renewed relevance to 'Hell's Angel' author, Christopher Hitchens, who had long insisted that Mother Teresa was not a hero or Saint, but rather 'just a confused, corrupt old woman.'
    He termed Mother Teresa's infamous 'dark night' (which was the main focus of the 'letters') as a 'martyrdom of desire.'
    The book also served as a template for the widely-panned 2015 biopic of the nun, titled 'The Letters,' which was accused of 'smothering a fascinating real-life story under a bland hagiography.'
    He said of her private struggles, in one interview, 'I’ve never read a saint’s life where the saint has such an intense spiritual darkness. No one knew she was that tormented,' also writing she experienced Christ’s presence 'neither in her heart or in the Eucharist.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was handpicked by Mother Teresa to open her first Missionary home in the Soviet Union, in 1989.
    He was one of only three priests asked by Mother Teresa to start her order of priests, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers.
    The three started out in the Bronx, eventually moving their seminary and community to Tijuana, Mexico, in June of 1988.
    In addition to his activities with the Mother Teresa Center, he serves as the Superior General of the MC Fathers, periodically visiting the 150 mission centers of his priests and seminarians, in over 14 countries.
    He was awarded the Ex Corde Ecclesiae Medal, by Ave Maria University, in recognition of his many years of dedicated service to the Church (2014).
    He rarely gives interviews about himself, usually devoting his time exclusively to discussing the revered Teresa of Calcutta.
    He addressed claims that Mother Teresa’s letters proved that she ‘lacked faith’ or had a ‘crisis of faith,’ by saying ‘she had a trial of faith where she experienced the feeling that she did not believe in God [which] required a lot of human maturity, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to do it.’
    He is responsible for petitioning for her sainthood, as well as collecting the supporting materials to argue the case.
    His efforts paid off when a second miracle was credited to her intercession by Pope Francis, paving the way for her to be recognised as a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church (December, 2015).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 13 Votes: 23.08% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 61 Votes: 83.61% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying