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Early life:
Mother Teresa was born as Agnes Gonxha
Bojaxhiu on 26th August 1910
in Skopje in Macedonia. The youngest of
the children born to Nikola and Drane
Bojaxhiu. She was of Albanian descent.
From childhood she was taught the
lessons of charity. At the young age of
12, Agnes stored to feel disinterest in
the worldly affairs and had the desire
to spend her entire life for God and his
work. At the age of 18, she left her
parental home in Skopje and joined the
Convent of our lady of Loreto, an Irish
community of nuns in Dublin. She
undertook the name Teresa in the year
1931. She was assigned to the Loreto
Entally community in Calcutta and taught
at St. Mary’s school for girls from 1931
to 1948. On May 1937, sister Teresa made
her final profession of vows from that
time on she was called Mother Teresa.
She had only one aim in life, to serve
the poor, the destitute, the needy and
all those who were dejected by the
society.
In 1948 she got the permission from Pope Pius XII to leave
the Loreto community and work among the
city’s poor. She started an open air
school for slum children. Soon she was
joined by voluntary helps and financial
support. In 1952, she opened Normal
Hriday (or Pure hearts), a home for
dying. She did a short course with the
Medical Mission Sisters in Palna and
returned to Calcutta and found temporary
lodging with little sisters of the poor.
Founding Missionaries of Charity:
Mother Teresa wanted to start a diocesan
congregation. On October 7, 1950, Mother
Teresa received permission from Vatican
and thus was born ‘Missionaries of
Charity’, whose primary task was to love
and care for persons nobody was prepared
to look after. In 1965, Mother Teresa
was awarded a decree of praise by Pope
John Paul VI and encouraged her to
expand to other countries. The society
of missionaries has spread all over the
world including former Soviet Union,
eastern European countries. These
societies provide effective help to the
poorest of the poor in a number of
countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America
and they undertake relief work in the
wake of natural catastrophes such as
floods, famines, epidemics and for
refugees. It also has houses in North
America, Europe and Australia where they
help the homeless, AIDS sufferers,
alcoholics. At present, the missionaries
of charities boast of 4000 thousand nuns
and branches in 133 countries of the
world.
Awards and Honors:
Mother Teresa’s work has been
appreciated and acclaimed through out
the world. She has received recognition
in the form of numerous awards as
follows.
1.
Indian Padamshree award (1962)
2.
Nehru Prize (1972)
3.
Noble peace prize (1979)
4.
Balzan prize (1979)
5.
Templeton and Magsaysay award
Last days:
During the last years of her life, she
continued to govern her society and
respond to the needs of the poor, needy
despite severe health problems. On
September 5, 1997 she breathed her last.
She was given the honor of state funeral
by government of India and her body was
buried in the Mother house of the
Missionaries of Charities. Her tomb
became a place of pilgrimage.
Beatification:
In 2002, the congregation for the causes
of saints recognized as a miracle the
healing of an Indian Women and approves
the decrees of her heroic values. On
October 19, 2003, Pope John Paul II
beatified Mother Teresa in Rome thereby
bestowing on her the title blessed.
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