Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, Macedonia on August 26, 1910. Her birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was the youngest child of Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. As a young child, Mother Teresa devoted herself to worshipping God. When she was eight years old her father, Nikola died, which left her family to be financially unstable. At the age of eighteen, she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loretto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India (Chawla 22). In 1928, she became a Catholic nun, which then she decided to change her name from Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhu to Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa became a nun so that she could do missionary work and spread the message of love and compassion in the world (Guntzelmen).
In the early 1930’s Mother Teresa joined the Irish order “The Sisters of Loretto”. She was sent to Calcutta in 1929, where she was appointed as a teacher at St. Mary’s High School (Spink 98). Then in 1944 she became the principal of the school. While Mother Teresa was there, she saw the poor conditions that the people were living in and she immediately wanted to help. She was granted permission form her superiors in 1948 to leave the convent school and taken on the task of serving the poor slum dwellers in Calcutta (Mother Teresa Biography). By leaving the convent school she was able to open a school for the children of Calcutta. Soon after she opened the school, volunteers joined and financial assistance came from allover the world. Mother Teresa not only taught children, but she also educated the adults. She traveled across the slum areas of Calcutta and noticed that there was a lack of basic facilities (Chawla 32). Because she saw all of this suffering, Mother Teresa decided to learn some medical techniques. She did this so that she could treat those who could not afford medication. People around her were so inspired by her actions’, they decided to form a group called the Missionaries of Charity, with the help of Mother Teresa. This group later opened up a facility for poor people who were dying and needed care (Spink 120). This facility brought in many generous donations that helped able Mother Teresa to continue her selfless service to the people of India.
In 1980, she started taking care of people who were suffering from incurable diseases, drug addicts and orphans. Mother Teresa established a Center for AIDS patients in 1985, where thousands of patients were provided shelter (Mother Teresa). Mother Teresa was the icon for peace, love and compassion. Her determination to serve the poor and needy fetched her about 124 prestigious awards (Mother Teresa). During the last years of her life, she continued to serve the poor and needy. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s sisters numbered nearly 4,000, working in about 610 foundations in 125 countries across the world (Chawla 50). In 1997, Mother Teresa passed away. And then in 2003 Pope John Paul II beautified Mother Teresa. This marked her first step of her sainthood. Mother Teresa is still recognized around the world for her social services in India.
