Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa

1. Early years

   • Born on the 26th of August 1910
   • Born in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia
   • Family: Mother, Father, older brother and sister
   • Raised in a devoutly catholic family. Her father was an entrepreneur and her mother was heavily involved with their local church. After her father’s death when she was only 8 years old, she became very close with her mother, who installed in her a strong sense of charity.
   • One of the most important early experiences that Mother Teresa had was attending a pilgrimage to the church of the Black Madonna in Letnice when she was 12, on this trip she first felt a calling to a religious life.

2. Education and nun hood

   • Attended a convent run primary school and then a state run secondary school.
   • Became a nun in 1928 at the age of 18. Mother Teresa became a nun as she felt a strong calling to live a religious life.
   • As a nun Mother Teresa first went to live in Ireland for a year at the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin. She then moved to Darjeeling in India, where she made her first profession of vows. Following this she was sent to Calcutta to teach at Saint Mary’s High School for Girl’s.

3. The calling

   • Mother Teresa received a calling from God on a train from Calcutta to the Himalayan Foothills on the 10th of September 1946.
   • Her calling told her to abandon teaching to work in the slums of Calcutta aiding the city’s poorest and sickest people.
   • Mother Teresa could not immediately pursue her calling because she had taken a vow of obedience and could not leave her convent without official permission. After a year she was finally granted permission and began her calling.

4. Work and charity

   • Worked with the poor and sick in the slums of Calcutta. She began an open air school and set up a home for the dying. She also created a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic and mobile health clinics.
   • She started charities including Missionaries of Charity and Gift of Love.
   • Mother Teresa contributed to the lives of others through providing education and health care services to the poorest of the poor.
   • Had to overcome the challenges of feeling as though she had loss God’s presence in her life and that she had been abandoned by God. She was able to overcome this tough part of her life through accepting the painful condition as part of her Christian journey.

5. Death and legacy

   • Mother Teresa received the Jewel of India, an honour award given to Indian civilians and Soviet Union’s Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee. She also received a Nobel Peace Prize. In 2015 Mother Teresa was also recognised as a Saint in the Catholic Church and is now known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
   • Mother Teresa effected history through bringing to light the horrible conditions of the Indian slums and dedicating her life to helping the poor. In doing this she inspired many to follow in her footsteps. Mother Teresa is also known as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century.
   • Mother Teresa established the organisation Missionaries for Charity, which is still in operation today.
   • Mother Teresa’s Christian beliefs and values allowed her to contribute to society as she believed that she was serving God through helping the poor. She also believed in the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. These vows were a huge influence that allowed her to contribute to society.
   • Died at the age of 87, on the 5th of September 1997. She died in Calcutta after a series of heart, lung and kidney problems.