Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa. A Roman Catholic nun and founder of the Missionaries of Charity, she dedicated her life to serving the poor, sick, and dying in the slums of Kolkata. Her work, which began in India, expanded into a global ministry, earning her international acclaim including the Nobel Peace Prize and the Bharat Ratna. Following her death, she was beatified and later canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

Early life and background

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Her family were ethnic Albanians and devout Catholics in a predominantly Muslim region. Deeply influenced by her mother's piety and the stories of missionaries in Bengal, she felt a calling to religious life by age twelve. At eighteen, she left home to join the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland, where she learned English before being sent to Darjeeling in British India. She took her first religious vows in 1931, choosing the name Teresa after Thérèse of Lisieux, and began teaching at St. Mary's School for girls in Kolkata.

Missionaries of Charity

In 1946, while traveling to Darjeeling, she experienced what she described as a "call within a call" to leave the convent and serve the poorest among the poor. After receiving permission from the Holy See, she exchanged her Loreto habit for a simple white sari with a blue border. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a new religious congregation approved by the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The order's initial mission was to care for, in her words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers." The first home she established was the Kalighat home for the dying, later named Nirmal Hriday. Under her leadership, the order rapidly expanded, opening missions across India and later worldwide, including in Venezuela, Italy, Tanzania, and the United States, operating hospices, orphanages, and centers for those with HIV/AIDS.

International recognition and criticism

Her global profile soared following a 1969 BBC documentary and a book by Malcolm Muggeridge. She received numerous international awards, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980. However, her work also attracted significant criticism. Medical ethicists like Robin Fox and journalists such as Christopher Hitchens questioned the standard of medical care in her homes and her opposition to contraception and abortion. Financial practices, including accepting donations from controversial figures like Charles Keating and the Duvalier dynasty in Haiti, were also scrutinized. Despite this, she maintained strong support from figures like Pope John Paul II and was widely venerated as a living saint.

Spiritual life and writings

Her spiritual life was characterized by profound personal devotion and a reported decades-long period of spiritual darkness, which she described in private letters to her confessors, later compiled in the book Come Be My Light. She adhered strictly to the Rule of Saint Augustine and the Constitutions of the Missionaries of Charity, emphasizing total commitment to Jesus Christ through "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor." Her simple yet potent writings, such as those found in A Simple Path, focused on themes of love, prayer, and service. She was deeply devoted to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and her daily life was structured around the Eucharist and the Rosary.

Death and legacy

Suffering from deteriorating health, including heart disease, she resigned as head of the Missionaries of Charity in March 1997. She died of cardiac arrest on 5 September 1997 in Kolkata, and was given a state funeral by the Government of India. Her order continued to grow under the leadership of Sister Nirmala Joshi. The process for her canonization was opened swiftly by Pope John Paul II, leading to her beatification in 2003 and her canonization as Saint Teresa of Calcutta by Pope Francis in 2016. Her legacy is preserved in institutions like the Mother Teresa Center and her relics are venerated at the Missionaries of Charity motherhouse. Her feast day is celebrated on 5 September, the anniversary of her death.

Category:1910 births Category:1997 deaths Category:Roman Catholic saints Category:Nobel Peace Prize laureates