Mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje (now North Macedonia), was a Catholic nun and humanitarian whose life’s works were wholly given to serving the poor. She founded Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation operating in more than 130 countries worldwide and providing help to the needy, sick, and dying. She is one of the kindest people of the 20th century and was made a saint in 2016.
QUICK FACTS
- Born: August 26, 1910, in Skopje, North Macedonia
- Full Name: Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu
- Founder of Missionaries of Charity
- Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
- Died on September 5, 1997
- Honoured by Padma Shri and Bharat Ratna
- Canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016
- Known for her selfless devotion to serving the poor
Early Life (1910-1929)
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in North Macedonia in 1910, and Christianity governed her early years. Mother Teresa was born the youngest of three children to Albanian parents Nikollë and Dranafile Bojaxhiu. She grew up in a religiously conscientious Albanian Catholic family. It was a very devout faith. It served her well throughout her life. But her father passed away when she was eight years old. Although she does not remember much of her academic years, her growing years had a deep religious calling.
Journey to India (1929-1946)
At the tender age of 18, Agnes, later Mother Teresa, knew that God had a mission for her. Her travels took her to Ireland to the Loretto Sisters as a stepping-stone toward her final destination. Finally, in 1929, she arrived in India, a land that would forever be a product of her life’s work. For the next 18 years, she taught at a school in Calcutta, although her lessons extended far beyond the walls of the classroom. The slums, saturated with suffering and misery, hit hard on the senses of the young nun.
Call and Mission (1946-1948)
In 1946 Agnes experienced what she later described as a “call within a call.” Now with a much larger desire to help, she steps away from the comparative comfort of her convent and becomes devoted to the poorest of the poor living in the slums of Calcutta. This required her to get permission from her superiors and establish a home from which she could pursue her new goal/mission.
Founding Missionaries of Charity (1948-1960)
By 1948, all this compassion, determination, and hard work had won Teresa the authorization to move forward toward creating the Missionaries of Charity, a brand new order aimed at helping the poorest people. Poverty, illness, and desertion were their targets. Hospices for the dying, mobile clinics for the sick, and even schools for neglected children were their marks of work. As Mother Teresa’s passion was recognized, people were called to her cause which allowed the ministry to continue growing.
Growth and Recognition (1970s-1980)
By the 1970s, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity had spread far beyond Calcutta. Mother Teresa’s work took on a global reach as the choir of nuns working with her mission set up branches all over the world to help the poorest of the poor. With that degree of international exposure came overwhelming respect, as demonstrated when Mother Teresa accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. More awards followed at home, with the Indian government bestowing Padma Shri as well as the country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna. However, amid all the accolades, criticisms and debates emerged that questioned the value of her formula.
Missionaries’ Impact
Missionaries of Charity provide essential care to the most needy. Their hospices, clinics, and schools helped thousands with poverty, illness, and abandonment.
Effectiveness and Criticism
Mother Teresa’s work has been acclaimed for being compassionate and focused on the needy. Some critics raise doubt on whether her ways are effective and concern themselves with the quality of medical care provided in her institutions.
Death and Legacy
As the 1990s dawned, Mother Teresa’s health was clearly on the decline. She relinquished the leadership of the Missionaries of Charity, but her spirit lived on. Mother Teresa died at the age of 87 on September 5, 1997. She had been in declining health for several years and died of a heart attack in Calcutta, India, where she had spent much of her life serving the poor.
In 2016, she was canonized by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, and her name became the epitome of being compassionate and serving the most vulnerable. The legacy of Mother Teresa inspires people around the world to serve humanity with love and compassion. The Missionaries of Charity, the organization she started, continues under her spirit to offer care and support to those who require it.
Conclusion
Mother Teresa’s story is a most astonishing example of a person putting compassion into real action—a young woman named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to St. Teresa of Calcutta—shaped by her faith and powerful calling. She forsook the comfort of ordinary life to aid the destitute, surviving on the streets of Calcutta, shunning prestige but attracting attention by idealism. Her resolve to buck suffering through hospices, clinics, and schools led to the formation of the Missionaries of Charity, which has eased the suffering of countless people. While her methods continue to raise discussion, her resolution to save the most destitute and her epitaph of love and service remain an inspiration.
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