‘Walking, Talking Saint’ in Long Beach : Mother Teresa Brings Peace Message

About 10,000 people, most of them Roman Catholics, filled Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach on Monday to hear Mother Teresa of Calcutta extol the virtues of peace and denounce the evils of abortion.

“Today abortion has become the greatest destroyer of peace because it has become the greatest destroyer of God,” said the 76-year-old nun, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work with India’s poor. “Let us pray to God that we may prevent the mothers . . . from killing their little unborn children created in the image of God.”

Later, she urged those present at the second annual Rosary for Peace to love their families and be good to the world’s poor, homeless and unclothed.

“Do not be afraid to love as God loves,” she said. “Love deeply with tenderness and concern.”

Mother Teresa has been on tour since June 1, according to members of her Missionaries of Charity, to visit some of the order’s 31 houses in the United States and Canada. She decided to come to Long Beach, they said, after receiving an invitation from Al Stillwell, a eucharistic minister at St. Cornelius Church, to preside over the Rosary.

“It’s not every day that a walking, talking saint comes to our town and acknowledges our lives,” the beaming Stillwell said in an interview as the service concluded. Last year’s Rosary, held in a local park, attracted about 500 people, he said.

“It shows you what it is to be humble,” Stillwell, 49, said. “You look in her eyes and if you don’t see God, you’ve missed everything.”

Others agreed Monday.

“It was fantastic,” said Tim Rosbottom, 27, of Bellflower. “She is down to earth, real, and she’s a true example of Christ.”

Helen Mora, 49, of Carson, said: “It was very emotional. The tone of her voice is so tender and caring--it just moves people.”

The crowd rose to its feet as the famous nun entered the stadium at 5 p.m. and, escorted by a contingent of children in plaid parochial school uniforms, priests and members of the local Knights of Columbus, made a dramatic procession around the track to her place near the podium.

Also on the program, which included singing by a choir from Artesia, was a hospital chaplain and Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell, who presented Mother Teresa with a key to the city.

“This improves community spirit and gives our city recognition,” Kell said before the service. “You never see a turnout of this magnitude for anything except the Grand Prix.”