Biography

There are over six billion people in the world, and an uncomfortable amount of which live below the poverty line. Many of them do not have the means to take care of themselves and are looked down upon and ignored by governments and people who posses the power to help them. Mother Teresa was one person who did not ignore their desperation, and made sure that other privileged individuals would also dedicate their lives to taking care of the poorest people on earth like she did. By ignoring all selfish matters in her life and completely giving herself to her work of taking care of “the poorest of the poor” (Frängsmyr 10-12) made a difference in millions of lives all over the world through the creation of the Missionaries of Charity that provided multiple services to “the unwanted, the unloved, and the uncared for.” (A Short Biography: Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonhxa Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Skopje Macedonia. (Teresa 1) She was born to parents Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. She was also the youngest of three siblings, having an older brother, Lazar, and an older sister, Aga. The family was close knit until a tragic event caused the death of her father when Agnes was eight years old. After that Drane tried very hard to support the family and religion was a big form of escape for the whole family. Religion had a very large impact on Agnes, and by the time she was twelve she knew that she was out on earth to do god’s bidding in helping people.

In order to be able to do this she left her home at the age of eighteen to join the Sisters or Loreto, a religious sisterhood in Ireland. While in Ireland she received the name Sister Teresa after the Saint Therese de Lisieux. Sister Teresa arrived at the Sisterhood in September of 1928, and by December she was fully trained and sent off to India to become a teacher at the St. Mary’s High school for girls in Calcutta. In order to do well in the school she also took the time and effort to learn Bengali and Hindi. (Von Dehsen 182) After her first few years in Calcutta she took the official vows to become a nun on May 24, 1931. A few years later she took the final vows to “become the spouse of Jesus” on May 24, 1937 and from then on became known as Mother Teresa.(Mother Teresa of Calcutta) After she became Mother Teresa, she soon became the principal of St. Mary’s.

On September 10, 1946 a train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for an annual retreat for the Sisters or Loreto Mother Teresa realized that although what she was doing with the Sisters of Loreto was positive; she realized that it was not enough. She realized her true calling was to help the poorest of the poor. She had been with The Sisters of Loreto for 20 years before leaving in order to help the people in the slums. At first when she left the Sisters of Loreto she went and stayed with the Medical Mission Sisters for awhile in Patna. Then she went back to Calcutta to lodge temporarily with the Little Sisters of the Poor with whom she went into the slums for the first time with. Every day after the first time, she started her day with prayer and then went out to the slums and helped the poor.

During the time after leaving the Sisters of Loreto Mother Teresa was waiting for permission from the pope to begin her own religious chapter. Finally, two years after leaving the Sisters of Loreto she was granted permission in 1950. She called it the Missionaries of Charity. The primary task of this group was to provide care and love for those persons nobody else was prepared to look after.

Mother Teresa started the Missionaries of Charity with no funds. But, after starting an open aired school for the children of the slums of Calcutta, funds and volunteers soon came leaking in. Soon after the founding of her open aired school, she created a hospice in 1952. This was created so poor terminally ill patients could die in a respectful, dignified way. The Missionaries of Charity soon grew, and by the 1960’s Mother Teresa was sending members to other parts of India. After being given an award by Pope Paul VI, Mother Teresa also set up a missionary house in Venezuela. Then foundations in Rome and Tanzania soon followed. Through the 1980’s and 1990’s almost all communist countries had Missionaries of Charity houses. Eventually, every continent except Antarctica had become home to Missionaries of Charity houses and foundations set up. These are still kept up and are still growing, and they help millions of poor people that were never given a chance before.

Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity went way beyond her initial expectations. Hospices were set up to help the terminally ill. Houses were set up in third world countries to help with natural catastrophes, like famine and epidemics, as well as helping refugees. There are also houses set up in Europe, North America, and Australia to help with Homeless, HIV/AIDS, and alcoholics. All of these subsidiaries were possible by the work of Mother Teresa.

For her work and determination she was awarded many different prizes. One of the most famous was the Nobel peace prize in 1979. But that was not the only one, being awarded the Pop John XXIII peace prize in 1971 and the Balzan prize in 1979. Other awards she was recognized for were the Templeton award, the Magsaysay award, and the Nehru prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding in 1972.



Unfortunately in her later years her health began to fail. She died of heart failure on September 5, 1997.(Frequently asked Questions) But, when she passed away, the Missionaries of Charity did not falter. Mother Teresa’s pride and joy only got stronger. By the time of her death there were over 600 foundations in 123 countries. There were over four thousand sisters in the order, and over one million coworkers around the world helping the foundation.

Over the span of her life Mother Teresa accomplished many amazing things. She set up schools, hospices, and homes to help the people that others thought didn’t matter. But, she knew that they were important as well, and if they couldn’t care for themselves then it was somebody else duty to do so. She helped millions of poor individuals, and then caused millions more to help volunteer with her Missionaries of Charity and learn the value of helping others. Through her determination and love of helping others, Mother Teresa was one woman that changed the lives of millions. “I want to become a saint, by satiating the thirst of Jesus for love and souls…These two are the thing I pray for, work and suffer.” (Teresa 144) As of now the process of making Mother Teresa a Saint is still in the works.