Advice from Mother Teresa on Class Day 1982 at Harvard

The class of 1982 hears from "the angel of Calcutta."

Mother Teresa delivers the Commencement address at Harvard University on June 10, 1982

Some senior classes opt for levity, or substance cloaked in levity, from their Class Day guest speaker. The class of 1982 chose to hear a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who may one day be named a saint. Mother Teresa, who founded the Society of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950, urged her audience to work for Jesus and to live virtuous lives themselves, and received a long, standing ovation from the unusually large crowd in Tercentenary Theatre.

 

For more on Mother Teresa’s speech, see this PDF from the July-August 1982 issue.

A transcription of the speech has been posted by Saint Catherine Labouré Church in San Diego.

Most popular

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

The Taliban and Trauma

Alumni friends collaborate to help students at the Asian University for Women.

HAA Announces Overseers and Directors Slate for 2026

Alumni will vote this spring for members of two key governing boards

Explore More From Current Issue

Two bare-knuckle boxers fight in a ring, surrounded by onlookers in 19th-century attire.

England’s First Sports Megastar

A collection of illustrations capture a boxer’s triumphant moment. 

Lawrence H. Summers, looking serious while speaking at a podium with a microphone.

Harvard in the News

Grade inflation, Epstein files fallout, University database breach 

A man skiing intensely in the snow, with two spectators in the background.

Introductions: Dan Cnossen

A conversation with the former Navy SEAL and gold-medal-winning Paralympic skier