Mother Teresa

 Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was a Roman Catholic nun and missionary who became globally known for her lifelong dedication to helping the poor, sick, and dying, especially in the slums of Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, which at the time was part of the Ottoman Empire (now the capital of North Macedonia). She was baptized the day after, on August 27, and she later considered that her “true birthday.” 

 Her birth name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu: 

  •  Anjezë = Agnes (in Albanian)  
  • Gonxhe means "rosebud" or "little flower."  
  • Her family was of Albanian descent


Mother Teresa Child 


Mother Teresa was the third child of Albanian grocer Nikola Bojaxhiu and his wife Drane. She had an older sister, Aga, and an older brother, Lazar. Her father died when she was about eight years old in 1928. When Mother Teresa was 18 years old, she went to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a community of nuns with missions in India. Six weeks later, she travelled to India to work as a teacher in the order’s school in Calcutta. In 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she described as a “call within a call”, or inspiration, to leave the Loreto convent and devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. She then moved into the slums. In 1950, she received permission from the Vatican to found the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious order of women, dedicated to serving “the poorest of the poor”.When she joined the Irish order Sisters of Loreto, she was given the name Sister Teresa after Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. She became Mother Teresa after making her final vows.

Mother Teresa Education

Agnes went to a convent-run primary school and then a state-run secondary school. She used to sing solos in the local Sacred Heart choir, and from there she first felt a calling to religious life at the age of 12. Six years later, in 1928, an 18-year-old Agnes decided to become a nun and set off for Ireland to join the sisters of Loreto in Dublin. It was there that she took the name Sister Mary Teresa after Saint Teresa of Liseux.


Mother Teresa was moved by the sight of the sick and dying on the streets of Kolkata. She founded a home for the dying destitute and named it 'Nirmal Hriday', meaning 'Pure Heart'. She and her fellow nuns brought the dying people off the streets of Kolkata to this home. They were lovingly looked after and cared for. Since then, many men, women, and children have been taken from the streets and carried to Nirmol Hriday. These unloved and uncared-for people get an opportunity to die in an environment of kindness and love. In their last hours, they get human and divine love, and can feel they are also children of God. The Missionaries of Charity try to find jobs for those who survive, or send them to homes where they can live happily for some more years in a caring environment.

Regarding commitment to family, Mother Teresa said, "Maybe in our own family, we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried. Are we there? Are we willing to give until it hurts in order to be with our families, or do we put our interests first? We must remember that love begins at home, and we must also remember that the future of humanity passes through the family".


Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa Achievements

Mother Teresa’s achievements were both humanitarian and spiritual, and her legacy continues to inspire millions around the world. Here are some of her most notable accomplishments:

The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to people who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." The Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary History describes it as "the most prestigious prize in the world."  By Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. The prize award ceremony has been held in Oslo City Hall since 1990, previously in the assembly hall of the University of Oslo (1947–1989), the Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–1946), and the Parliament (1901–1904).  Due to its political nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history, been subject to numerous controversies.  The 2024 prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo from Japan, an organisation formed by survivor groups of atomic bomb victims, "for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again".

Mother Teresa died and was placed.

Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, at the age of 87.  She passed away at the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, the headquarters of the organization she founded. Her health had been declining for several years due to heart problems, and she had suffered multiple heart attacks before her death.  She was given a state funeral by the Indian government in recognition of her immense service to the nation, and her tomb remains a place of pilgrimage and reverence.

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