Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. Considered one of the 20th Century's greatest humanitarians, she was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016.
Mother Teresa at a hospice for the destitute and dying in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, 1969.
Photo: Terry Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Mother Teresa’s Family and Young Life
Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia. The following day, she was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.
Mother Teresa’s parents, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, were of Albanian descent; her father was an entrepreneur who worked as a construction contractor and a trader of medicines and other goods. The Bojaxhius were a devoutly Catholic family, and Nikola was deeply involved in the local church as well as in city politics as a vocal proponent of Albanian independence.
In 1919, when Mother Teresa — then Agnes — was only eight years old, her father suddenly fell ill and died. While the cause of his death remains unknown, many have speculated that political enemies poisoned him.
In the aftermath of her father's death, Agnes became extraordinarily close to her mother, a pious and compassionate woman who instilled in her daughter a deep commitment to charity. Although by no means wealthy, Drana Bojaxhiu extended an open invitation to the city's destitute to dine with her family. "My child, never eat a single mouthful unless you are sharing it with others," she counseled her daughter. When Agnes asked who the people eating with them were, her mother uniformly responded, "Some of them are our relations, but all of them are our people."
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu[6] (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian: [aˈɲɛzə ˈɡɔndʒɛ bɔjaˈdʒiu]; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta,[7] was an Albanian-Indian[4] Roman Catholic nun and missionary.[8] She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Skopje for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta MC Mother Teresa 1.jpg Mother Teresa in June 1995 Consecrated religious, nun Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu 26 August 1910 Skopje, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (present-day Skopje, North Macedonia) Died 5 September 1997 (aged 87) Calcutta, West Bengal, India (present-day Kolkata) Venerated in Roman Catholic Church Beatified 19 October 2003, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II Canonized 4 September 2016, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis Major shrine Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Feast 5 September[1] Attributes Nun's habit Rosary Patronage World Youth Day Missionaries of Charity Archdiocese of Calcutta (co-patron) [2][3] Mother Teresa Title Superior general Personal Religion Christianity Nationality Ottoman subject (1910–1912) Serbian subject (1912–1915) Bulgarian subject (1915–1918) Yugoslavian subject (1918–1943) Yugoslavian citizen (1943–1948) Indian subject (1948–1950) Indian citizen[4] (1950–1997) Albanian citizen[5] (1991–1997) United States, honorary citizenship (awarded 1996) Denomination Roman Catholicism Signature Signature of Mother Teresa.svg Institute Sisters of Loreto (1928–1948) Missionaries of Charity (1950–1997) Senior posting Period in office 1950–1997 Successor Sr. Nirmala Joshi, MC In 1950, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation that had over 4,500 nuns and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, and also profess a fourth vow – to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."[9]
Teresa received a number of honors, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She was canonised on 4 September 2016, and the anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day. A controversial figure during her life and after her death, Teresa was admired by many for her charitable work. She was praised and criticized on various counts, such as for her views on abortion and contraception, and was criticized for poor conditions in her houses for the dying. Her authorized biography was written by Navin Chawla and published in 1992, and she has been the subject of films and other books. On 6 September 2017, Teresa and St. Francis Xavier were named co-patrons of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta.