Mother Teresa of Calcutta

mother Teresafrom Calcutta was a humanitarian, that means she dedicated her life to helping other people. Her entire career has been completely dedicated to helping the poor, the sick, the needy and the destitute.

Mother Teresa was born in Uskub, ottoman empire, on August 26, 1910. This city is now called Skopje and is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Her birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her father died when she was eight and she was raised by her mother.

Agnes grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and decided to dedicate her life to God at an early age. When she turned 18, Agnes joined the Sisters of Loreto to become a missionary in India. Before she could go to India, she had to learn English. She spent a year in Ireland learning to speak English at Loreto Abby.

A year later, Agnes began her missionary work in Darjeeling, India. She learned the local language, Bengali, and taught at the local school. In 1931, she took her vows as a nun and chose the name Teresa. She taught for many years in India, eventually becoming the principal of a school in East Calcutta.

Contribution

When she was 36 years old, Mother Teresa felt God's call to help the poor of India. She received basic medical training and then set out to help the sick and needy.

This was no easy task in 1948. She had very little support, and in trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even had to beg for food.

Missionaries of Charity

In 1950, Mother Teresa formed a group within the Catholic Church called the Missionaries of Charity. She described the purpose of the Missionaries of Charity as an organization that would care for “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, despised, neglected in the whole society, people who have become a burden on society and are shunned by everyone.”

When she started the Missionaries of Charity, there were only 13 members. Today, the group has over 4,000 members who care about people all over the world. It was not an easy task to build this organization and keep the focus on the poorest people. She worked almost until her death on September 5, 1997.

Curiosities

• Mother Teresa was beatified by the Catholic Church. This is a step on the path to becoming a saint. She is now called Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
• She never saw her mother or sister again after leaving home to become a missionary.
• Albania's international airport is named after her, the Aeroporti Nene Tereza.
• She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Instead of having the traditional Nobel honors banquet, she asked that the banquet proceeds be donated to India's poor.
• She traveled to a war zone to rescue 37 children from the front lines.
• She has received numerous awards for all her charitable work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan.
• It takes about 9 years of service to become a full member of the Missionaries of Charity.

Quotes from Mother Teresa of Calcutta

• “You wouldn't bathe a leper for a million dollars? Me either. Only out of love can you bathe a leper.”
• “When do I rest? I rest in love.”
• “A happy heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”
• “What I do is a drop in the middle of an ocean. But, without her, the ocean will be smaller."
• “It is easy to love those who are far away. But it is not always easy to love those who live next to us.”
• “The lack of love is the greatest of all poverty.”