NUDGEE College boarding student Dallas Reichel read his first book about Mother Teresa of Calcutta when he was aged seven or eight – and was captivated by her.
In January, Dallas, 17, will leave for the Philippines to begin a postulancy with the Missionaries of Charity (MC).
The male branch of the order was founded by Mother Teresa and Australian Br Andrew, who died recently. It received papal approval in 1963 and now has more than 400 professed members.
Only one other Australian has entered the male order and he serves in India. The congregation is not yet ministering in Australia.
Dallas’s parents Donna and Anthony and younger brother Kane live in the Newcastle parish of Belmont.
He sees entering the congregation as a response to Mother Teresa’s challenge “to do something beautiful for God”.
