MOTHER TERESA

Born Agnes Gonxa Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa was born in Macedonia to Albanian parents. Agnes first felt a calling to religious life when on an annual pilgrimage to the Church of the Black Madonna, it was at the age of 18 that she decided to become a nun and went to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto, it was here that she took the name Sister Mary Teresa. She became Mother Teresa in 1937 when she took her Final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. She taught in India for 17 years before devoting herself to caring for the sick and the poor. The founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to help the poor. Mother Teresa learned to speak both Bengali and Hindi fluently. In 1948 she started a school and established a home for the dying destitute, she convinced the government to donate to her cause. In 1962 Mother Teresa was awarded the Padma Shri. Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 1979. She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds ($192,000) be given to the poor in India. By 1997, when she passed away, the Missionaries of Charity numbered more than 4500 with 610 foundations all around the world. Mother Teresa was granted a state funeral by the Indian government in gratitude for her services to the poor of all religions in India. Mother Teresa was awarded the Jewel of India, the highest honour bestowed on Indian civilians. In 2015 Pope Francis issued a decree that recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for her to be canonised as a Saint in September 2016.

"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

Praise for Mother Teresa

For decades, Mother Teresa was committed to aiding those in need. She is considered to be one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century.