Presentation: Mother Teresa (1910–1997)

Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a
Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor.
Considered one of the 20th Century's greatest humanitarians, she was
canonized a s Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016

1. Who was Mother Teresa?

Nun and missionary Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta,
devoted her life to caring for the sick and poor. Born in Macedonia to parents of Albanian-descent and
having taught in India for 17 years, Mother Teresa experienced her "call within a call" in 1946. Her
order established a hospice; centers for the blind, aged and disabled; and a leper colony.
In 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. She died in
September 1997 and was beatified in October 2003.
2. Mother Teresa’s Family and Young Life
Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of
Macedonia. The following day, she was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.
In 1919, when Mother Teresa — then Agnes — was only eight years old, her father suddenly fell ill
and died. While the cause of his death remains unknown, many have speculated that political enemies
poisoned him.
In the aftermath of her father's death, Agnes became extraordinarily close to her mother, a pious and
compassionate woman who instilled in her daughter a deep commitment to charity.
3. Education and Nunhood
Agnes attended a convent-run primary school and then a state-run secondary school. As a girl, she
sang in the local Sacred Heart choir and was often asked to sing solos.
▪ 1928, an 18-year-old Agnes Bojaxhiu decided to become a nun and set off for Ireland to join the
sisters of Loreto in Dublin. It was there that she took the name Sister Mary Teresa after Saint Thérèse
of Lisieux.
▪ May 1931, she made her First Profession of Vows
▪ On May 24, 1937, she took her Final Profession of Vows to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience.
▪ 1944 she became the school's principal. Through her kindness, generosity and unfailing commitment
to her students' education, she sought to lead them to a life of devotion to Christ.
4. Missionaries of Charity
Mother Teresa quickly translated her calling in to concrete actions to help the city's poor. She began
an open-air school and established a home for the dying destitute in a dilapidated building she
convinced the city government to donate to her cause.