The Nun Who Became A Saint

22.03.2022

During her lifetime Mother Teresa became famous as the Catholic nun who dedicated her life to caring for the destitute and dying in the slums of Calcutta – now known as Kolkata.

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia, on August 26**, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months’ training in Dublin she was sent to India.

On her arrival in India, she began by working as a teacher; however, the widespread poverty of Calcutta made a deep impression on her, and this led to her starting a new order called “The Missionaries of Charity”. The primary objective of this mission was to look after people, who nobody else was prepared to look after. Mother Teresa felt that serving others was a fundamental principle of the teachings of Jesus Christ. She often mentioned the saying of Jesus,

In 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation devoted to the mercy and care of the poor and those in need. As a robe Mother Theresa chose a white sari with blue stripes, the colors of the caste of the Untouchables.

Mother Teresa’s influence grew rapidly, also thanks to the worldwide media attention. With the help of local and foreign personalities, she opened reception centers and care for the poor, sick and lepers. She received the visit of heads of state, the most powerful men in the world, and had a long friendship with Pope John Paul II, who already considered her a living Patron of Hospitality.