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Early Life

Mother Therasa was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje (capital of the Republic of Macedonia) to Nikollë and Drana Bojaxhiu. Mother Teresa's (Annai Therasa) real name was Agnesë Gonxha Bojaxhiu. she was youngest of the three siblings.

At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen, moved by a desire to become a missionary, Gonxha (Mother Therasa) left her home in September 1928 to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, in Ireland. She never again saw her mother or sister. Also Gonxha (Mother Therasa) received training in Dublin, Ireland, and in Darjeeling, India,

She arrived in Calcutta, India in January 6, 1929. She took her first religious vows as a nun on May 24, 1931. From 1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. At that time she chose the name Teresa after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries.

Mother Therasa was granted permission in 1948 to leave the Sisters of Loretto and continue her work under the guidance of the Archbishop of Calcutta. She taught poor children and learned the basics of medicine in order to treat the sick in their homes. Teresa was given the moniker "Saint of the Gutters" for the work she was doing.

Missionaries of Charity

On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to start her own order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, to known as the "Missionaries of Charity". The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to care for, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, and all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.

The Missionaries of Charity, which began as a small Order with 13 members in Calcutta, today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods.

In 1955 she opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth. Also In 1960 she opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India. In 1962 Mother Teresa was awarded the Pandra Shri prize for "extraordinary services". In 1965 first house outside india opened in Venezuela with five sisters. Others followed in Rome, Tanzania and Austria.

Mother Therasa

During the 1970s the order opened houses and foundations in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States. Now the "Missionaries of Charity" has presence in more than 100 countries.

In 1982, at the height of the Siege of Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children trapped in a front line hospital by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas. Mother Teresa traveled to assist and minister to the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her homeland and opened a Missionaries of Charity Brothers home in Tirana, Albania.

By 1996, she was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries. Over the years, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity grew from twelve to thousands serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world.

Peaceful Death

Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack in Rome in 1983, while visiting Pope John Paul II. After a second attack in 1989, she received an artificial pacemaker. In 1991, after a battle with pneumonia while in Mexico, she suffered further heart problems. She offered to resign her position as head of the Missionaries of Charity. But the nuns of the order, in a secret ballot, voted for her to stay. Mother Teresa agreed to continue her work as head of the order.

n April 1996, Mother Teresa fell and broke her collar bone. In August she suffered from malaria and failure of the left heart ventricle. She had heart surgery, but it was clear that her health was declining. Another controversy surrounding her is that when she fell ill, instead of being treated at one of her clinics, she opted to be treated at a well-equipped hospital in California. On March 13, 1997, she stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity and died on September 5, 1997. The Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry Sebastian D'Souza, said he ordered a priest to perform an exorcism on Mother Teresa with her permission when she was first hospitalized with cardiac problems because he thought she may be under attack by the devil.

Recognition

Mother Therasa recognized by Padma Shri in 1962 (India), Paul VI awarded her the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, Nehru Prize for “Promotion of International Peace & Understanding” in 1972, Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975), Pacem in Terris Award in1976, Balzan Prize for “promoting humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples” in 1978, Nobel Peace Prize "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace" in 1979 , Bharat Ratna in 1980 (India), Order of Australia in 1982 (Australia, Honorary Companion) "for service to the community of Australia and humanity at large", Order of Merit in 1983 (UK), Golden Honour of the Nation in 1994 (Albania), honorary citizenship of the United States received on November 16, 1996 (USA),

Time Line

1910 - Mother Therasa was born in Skopje to Nikollë and Drana Bojaxhiu.

1919 - Mother Therasa Father Died

1929 – Mother Therasa arrived in India

1948 – She began missionary work with the poor

1950 - Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata

1952 - Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the City of Calcutta.

1960 - Mother Therasa Opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India.

1962 - Padma Shri Award (India)

1971 - Peace Prize by Paul VI awarded her the first Pope John XXIII

1972 - Nehru Prize for “Promotion of International Peace & Understanding”

1975 - Albert Schweitzer International Pr

1976 - Pacem in Terris Award

1978 - Balzan Prize for “promoting humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples”

1979 - Nobel Peace Prize "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which      also constitutes a threat to peace"

1980 - India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, “for her humanitarian work”.

1982 - Order of Australia in 1982 (Australia, Honorary Companion) "for service to the community of Australia and humanity at large"

1983 - Order of Merit in 1983 (UK)

1994 - Golden Honour of the Nation

1996 - Honorary citizenship of the United States

1997 - Died

2003 - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta St. Peter's Basilica, Rome by Pope John Paul II