Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu to an ethnic Albanian family in Skopje in 1910, she joined the Sisters of Loreto at eighteen and was sent to India, where she taught school in Kolkata (then Calcutta) for nearly two decades. In 1946, she experienced what she described as a clear call within her vocation to leave the convent and serve the poorest of the poor directly.
She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, a congregation dedicated to caring for the destitute, the sick, orphans, and the dying, beginning with a home for the dying in Kolkata and eventually expanding to over a hundred countries. Known worldwide simply as Mother Teresa, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work, and became one of the most recognized symbols of Christian charity of the 20th century before her death in 1997. She was canonized in 2016.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Mother Teresa
An Albanian-born nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, devoting her life to caring for the poorest and dying of the city's streets.
- Born
- 1910
- Died
- 1997
- Birthplace
- Skopje (in modern North Macedonia)
- Died in
- Kolkata, India
- Country
- India
- Canonised
- 2016-09-04
- Century
- 20th century
Why People Pray to Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Saint Teresa of Calcutta is invoked by those serving the poor, the sick, and the dying, and by anyone seeking to see Christ in the most overlooked and suffering people.
