Finding Calcutta:  Memoirs of a Photographer

About the book:  When Mother Teresa was alive, her order, the Missionaries of Charity, invited Louisiana photographer Marie Constantin to travel in the US with her as she visited her facilities and participated in her Sisters’ vow ceremonies up and down the east coast. While Constantin’s travels with her were for the purpose of photographing the ceremonies so that the sisters would have photos to send back home to family members who couldn't attend, Constantin had other reasons for her pro-bono work.  She wanted to become a nun.  And this was a good way for her to explore that path and maintain privacy while doing so.  Even though she made three “Come-and Sees,” short live-in stints with the order, Constantin never joined, but continued working with Catholic nuns who gave services to the poor in some of the world's worst slums.

Constantin just finished writing a chronicle of her experiences as a photographer and seeker.  While most of the images are of Mother Teresa, in essence, Finding Calcutta: Memoirs of a Photographer, is a love story about the work of nuns.

“I would hope I bring nuns back into the consciousness of people,” Constantin said.  “Mother Teresa and all the nuns I was privileged to be around or write about stole my heart forever.  I gave it back in this book.”