Ten years after St. Teresa of Calcutta was canonized, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington shares a remarkable connection his family shared with the saint: His father, a doctor in New York, provided healthcare for her and the Missionaries of Charity in the South Bronx.
Msgr. Robert Panke, pastor of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., who is one of seven children of the late Dr. William and Marilyn Panke, told the Register that as a general surgeon at St. Vincent’s Hospital, his father came to know Mother Teresa and ultimately provide free medical care for her and her sisters.
Dr. Panke met Mother Teresa through his personal friendship with Msgr. William Smith, who taught moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York, and served as chaplain and confessor to the Missionaries of Charity in the South Bronx. The elder Panke, in consultation with Msgr. Smith, also founded the first medical ethics committee at St. Vincent’s.
At some point, Msgr. Panke recalls, his father suggested to Msgr. Smith, who celebrated Mass at their parish, Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale, that St. Vincent’s might be able to help provide healthcare to the sisters.
