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Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu
in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 27, 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, where on May 24, 1931,
she took her initial vows as a nun.
From 1931 to 1948 Mother
Teresa taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the
suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made
such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission
from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself
to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.
Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and
started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined
by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming.
This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work.
On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received
permission from the Holy See to start her own order, "The
Missionaries of Charity", whose primary task was to love and
care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965
the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree
of Pope Paul VI.
Today the order comprises Active and
Contemplative branches of Sisters and Brothers in many countries.
In 1963 both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the
Active branch of the Brothers was founded. In 1979 the
Contemplative branch of the Brothers was added, and in 1984 the
Priest branch was established.
The Society of Missionaries has spread all
over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern
European countries. They provide effective help to the poorest of
the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural
catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for
refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and
Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics,
homeless, and AIDS sufferers.
The Missionaries of Charity throughout the
world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers who became an official
International Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there
were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along
with the Co-Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow
Mother Teresa's spirit and charism in their families.
Mother Teresa's work has been
recognized and
acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of
awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize
(1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international
peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize
(1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.
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