Mother Teresa

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION Mother Teresa was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire and now in North Macedonia. Born into an Albanian Catholic family, she was known as Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu before entering religious life. In 1928, she left home to join the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland. She travelled to India the following year and became a teacher at St. Mary’s School in Calcutta, now Kolkata. She took her final religious vows in 1937 and later served as the school’s principal. A NEW RELIGIOUS MISSION In 1946, during a train journey to Darjeeling, she experienced what she described as a further religious calling to live and work among people in extreme poverty. After receiving permission to leave her convent-based work, she began this new mission in 1948. Her white sari with blue borders became a familiar symbol of the work. On 7 October 1950, the Missionaries of Charity was formally established in Calcutta. The congregation combined Catholic religious practice with direct assistance to people facing poverty, illness and abandonment. THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY Mother Teresa and her fellow sisters developed homes for children, facilities for people affected by leprosy and places of care for those nearing death. Their work brought attention to people who often lacked family support or access to other services. The organisation expanded beyond Calcutta and India, establishing an international presence. Volunteers and donors supported its growth, while media coverage made Mother Teresa one of the world’s most recognisable religious figures. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AND PUBLIC DEBATE In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. The award recognised efforts to assist people suffering from deprivation and social exclusion. Her reputation also attracted criticism. Questions were raised about the standards of care and access to pain relief in some institutions associated with her work. Her opposition to abortion reflected Catholic teaching and was another subject of public disagreement. These debates form part of her historical legacy alongside the assistance provided by her congregation. DEATH AND CANONISATION Mother Teresa died in Calcutta on 5 September 1997, aged eighty-seven. India honoured her with a state funeral. The Missionaries of Charity continued its work after her death. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 2003. Pope Francis canonised her on 4 September 2016, and she is known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. At the canonisation, Francis presented her service to people who were poor, sick or abandoned as an example of mercy and voluntary commitment to others.