Mother Teresa
Mary Tereza Bojaxhiu [1] (baptized: Agnes Ganja Bojaxhiu; Albanian: Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; August 26, 1910 - September 5, 1998), better known as Mother [a] Tereza or Teresa [b], was an Albanian [2] [3] Indian [4] Catholic nun and missionary. Teresa was born in Skopje, Albania, in the Ottoman Empire. [C] [1] He lived there until he was eighteen. In 1926, he came to Ireland on a mission to spread Christianity in the then British colony. He remained in India for the rest of his life.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mary Theresa Bojajiu
Born 26 August 1910
Yuskup, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, Northern Macedonia)
Died 5 September 1997 (age 8)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
NationalityIndian CitizenshipIndia (1947-1998) Occupational Catholic Nun, Missionary of Charity
(Charitable Dharmapracharak Sangha) Successor Nirmala Yoshipurskar Nobel Peace Prize (1989)
Bharat Ratna (1970)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985)
Baljan Award (198)
In Calcutta in 1950, he founded a missionary organization called The Missionaries of Charity. In 2012, 4500 nuns were associated with this association. His preaching activities spread first in India and later all over the world. In 2016, Pope Francis recognized him as a 'saint' and in the Catholic Church he was named 'Saint Teresa of Calcutta'. [5] [6]
When the BBC aired a documentary by Malcolm Magarius entitled Something Beautiful for God in 1979, his charitable activities spread widely in the Western media, and Teresa's fame spread around the world. [8] [7] He received the highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. At the time of Teresa's death, The Missionaries of Charity had 610 centers in 123 countries around the world, including AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis clinics, dining halls, child and family counseling centers, orphanages and schools.
Mary Theresa Bojaju is a controversial figure; Before and after his death, he was hailed and condemned by various individuals, organizations and governments of several states. Germain Greer has criticized Theresa as a "religious imperialist". [10] [11] Individuals and organizations such as Christopher Hitchens, Michael Parenti, Arup Chatterjee, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and others have objected to contraception and abortion, his belief in the spiritual greatness of poverty, and his death. Criticized. Various medical journals have criticized the poor quality of treatment at its established medical centers and also expressed concern about the opaque spending of donations.
Biography
Early life
Agnes Ganja Bojajhiu (Albanian word ganja means rosebud) was born on 27 August 1910 in Yuskube, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia). Although he was born on August 26, he considered August 26 to be his "real birthday"; Because he was baptized on that date. [12] He was the youngest child of Niccolo and Drana Bayazur. They were originally from the Schডder region of Albania. [13] His father was involved in Albanian politics. He lost his father in 1919 at the age of eight. After his father's death, his mother raised him in the Roman Catholic faith. According to a biography by Joan Graf Clucas, little Agnes loved to hear stories about the lives and work of missionaries. At the age of 12, she decided to pursue a religious monastic life. [14] At the age of 18, she left home and joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. He never saw his mother and sisters again. [15]
Agnes first went to study English at Loreto Abbey in Rothfernham, Ireland. Because the language was the medium of instruction for the Sisters of Loreto in India. [17] She came to India in 1929 and began working as a novice in Darjeeling. [18] On 24 May 1931, she was sworn in as a nun. During this time she took the name Theresa, after Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, patron saint of missionaries. [18] [19] She was sworn in on 14 May 1936 while teaching at a Loreto convent school in East Calcutta. [2] [20]
Although he enjoyed teaching in school, he became increasingly concerned about the poverty of Calcutta. [21] In the fifties, indescribable sorrow and death descended on the city; Many people also died in the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1947. All of this had a profound effect on Teresa's mind. [22]
Missionaries of Charity
On September 10, 1948, while going to Darjeeling for a religious retreat, he came to a deep realization. He later described the experience as "another call within a call." He further said,
“
It was necessary for me to leave the convent and live among the poor and help them. It was a direct order. Failure to comply with this order meant breaking faith
”
In 1946, he started preaching among the poor. Abandoned the traditional Loreto habit. He wears a simple white cotton dress with blue edges. It was at this time that he took Indian citizenship and started working in the slum area. He first started by setting up a small school in Motijheel. Later he started responding to the calls of the hungry and the destitute. Keep helping them in various ways. His activities soon came to the notice of Indian officials. The Prime Minister himself acknowledged his work.

Pure Heart Founded by Mother Teresa (2006)
Statue of Mother at Raja Rammohun Roy Sarani in Calcutta
These early days were quite difficult for him. He has written a lot about this in his diary. He had no money at that time. He had to go from door to door to raise food and shelter for the poor and starving. He had to collect money from rich people. In doing so, he often felt frustrated, skeptical, and lonely. At times, I thought it would be better to return to a peaceful life in the convent. Wrote in the diary:
“God wants me to be a free nun, to be surrounded by the poverty of the sign of the cross. I got a good education today. How difficult is the poverty of the poor. When I was looking for a house, my body, arms and legs would get sore from walking. I wondered where the bodies and souls of the poor people would suffer in trying to find shelter, food, and help. Then greed became strong. The palaces of Loreto came to mind. Beautiful, how comfortable! What else do you want? Someone seemed to be showing me greed, 'Once you want to open your mouth, you will get everything back.' My lord, in your own will, in love for you, I want to do what you want me to do. I did not let a single tear fall from my eyes. [23] "
On October 7, 1950, Teresa obtained permission from the Vatican to hold a "Diocesan Evangelical Association" (bishop-like assembly). It was this gathering that later made its debut as Missionaries of Charity.
The charity started its journey in Calcutta as a small order of only 13 members. Currently, more than 4,000 nuns are working under it. Under the charity, orphanages and rehabilitation centers for AIDS victims are run. The charity is working tirelessly to serve refugees, blind, paralyzed, elderly, drug addicts, the poor, the homeless and those affected by floods, famines or epidemics worldwide.
In 1952, Mother Teresa built the first shelter and service center for the deceased on land given to her by the Calcutta Municipal Authority. With the help of Indian officials, he converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dyeing. It was a charitable medical center built for the poor. Later the name of this center was changed to Nirmal Hridoy. Those who came to this center for shelter were given medical facilities and were given a chance to die with dignity. "A beautiful death is for people who lived like animals to die like angels - loved and wanted," said Teresa. Shortly afterwards, Teresa Hansen opened a service center for people with the disease (commonly known as leprosy) called the City of Peace. In addition, a number of leprosy treatment centers were set up in remote areas outside Kolkata at the initiative of the Missionaries of Charity. Medicine, bandages and food are provided in these centers.
Sangha used to take care of the children. At one point the number of children increased so much that Teresa felt the need to create a separate home for them. It was with this feeling that Nirmal established Shishu Bhavan in 1955. This building was a kind of paradise for orphans and homeless children.
Soon Missionaries of Charity was able to attract the attention of many donor organizations and individuals at home and abroad. This makes it possible to raise a lot of money. By the 1980s, charitable medical centers, orphanages and shelters had been established all over India with the funding and management of charities. Its first center outside India was established in 1965 in Venezuela. The center was established with only 5 nuns. Then gradually spread to different countries. In 198, Cola branched out to Rome, Tanzania and Austria. Branches were established in the 1980s in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. However, there are also some criticisms about his philosophy and practical aspects. Critics against Mother Teresa have been able to present very little information. Acknowledging this, David Scott said, "Mother Teresa herself put more emphasis on keeping people alive than on alleviating poverty." His attitude towards suffering has also been criticized. A report in Alberta states: "He thought that suffering was the way to get closer to Jesus." The British Medical Journal and The Lancet also expressed doubts about the quality of medical services at its service centers. Many people talk about using the same hypodermic needle more than once. The low standard of living of the centers has also been criticized. The Union's non-materialist approach to it made systematic diagnosis almost impossible.
International activities
In 1982, at the height of the siege of Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 36 children trapped in a front-line hospital during the war. A temporary ceasefire between the Israeli army and the Palestinian guerrillas improved the situation. Take this opportunity to go to the war-torn region with the help of the Red Cross. Removes underage patients from devastated hospitals.
During the socialist regime, missionary activities were banned in many Eastern European countries. But in the 1970s, that part of Europe became relatively liberal. It was at this time that Mother Teresa was able to spread the work of the Missionaries of Charity to Eastern Europe. His work began through dozens of projects. Many criticized her for her strong stance against abortion and divorce. But Teresa always said, "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work."
Teresa visited hungry people in Ethiopia, traveling to the Chernobyl radiation-affected areas. He used to deliver services to the victims of the American earthquake. In 1991, Teresa returned to her homeland, Albania, for the first time. He established a "Missionaries of Charity Brothers Home" in the city of Tirana in this country.
In 1997, he conducted a total of 517 missionary campaigns in more than 100 countries around the world. The association, which started with only 12 members, has grown to thousands over time. They were all doing humanitarian work in about 450 centers in different countries. This charity, which used to work among the poorest of the poor, is still doing so. The first branch of the charity in the United States was established south of the Bronx Borough in New York. By mid-1984, about 19 branches of the charity were active in the United States.
Several people have criticized the use of money received by the charity for charitable work. Christopher Hitchens and Stern have criticized the magazine, saying some of the money raised by the charity for the development of the poor is spent on other things.
Perfection
On December 16, 2015, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis had recognized Mother Teresa's second miraculous contribution, which involved the healing of a Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors. [24] [25]. Hundreds of thousands of people, including 15 government officials and 1,500 homeless people from Italy, gathered for the event. [26] [26] The show was shown live on the Vatican Channel and online; In Mother Teresa's hometown of Skopje, a week-long celebration of her fulfillment was announced [26]. A special mass celebration was held at the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. [26]
Loss of health and death
Mother Teresa suffered her first heart attack in 1973 during a visit to Rome to meet Pope John Paul II. After another heart attack in 1989, he had an artificial pacemaker implanted in his body. While living in Mexico in 1991, he contracted pneumonia, which further aggravated his heart condition. In this situation, he offered to step down as head of the Missionaries of Charity. But the charity's nuns requested Teresa to remain chief after a secret ballot. Inevitably Teresa continues to work as the head of the charity.
Caller's sister broke down in April 1997. He contracted malaria in August. In addition to this, the ventricle of his left heart became incapable of transporting blood. On March 13, 1997, he resigned as head of the Missionaries of Charity. He died on 5th September.
Henry Sebastian D'Souza, Archbishop of Calcutta, said that after Teresa was hospitalized with a heart attack, she asked an evangelist to exorcism. Because he had the idea that some devil had attacked Teresa.
At the time of her death, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity numbered 4,000 sisters; It had 300 Brotherhood members. And the number of volunteers was over 100,000. Preaching was being carried out in a total of 610 centers in 123 countries of the world. These centers included medical centers for AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling centers, orphanages and schools.
She is a great woman❤