O
n August 26, 1910, a girl was born in Skopje, Albania (now capital of Macedonia) as the youngest child of a devout Catholic family. Little did her parents know that the child, named Agnes Gonxha (meaning ‘flower-bud’) was to bring glory to their name, by becoming one of the greatest and most respected figures of the 20th century. It was she whom we know today as Mother Teresa.
Agnes’s parents, the Bojaxhius, inculcated in their children the values of generosity and charity. The home was a happy, open place where the children’s friends were always welcome. Agnes was a good student who participated actively in parish activities. As a child, she was deeply moved on hearing of the work done by Jesuit missionaries in faraway Bengal. By age 18, her mind was made up she was going to become a missionary.
Agnes joined the Sisters of Loreto and set sail for India. After training to be a nun and a teacher, she chose the name of Teresa.For 17 years, Sister Teresa taught at a girl’s convent school in Calcutta. In 1946, she had a divine revelation that changed her whole life.She felt that God was asking her to give up her cloistered, secure life and serve the poor. She decided to abide by God’s will. However, it was not easy to embark on her new mission, as she had to first obtain permission from her superiors to leave the convent. Undaunted,she applied to the Archbishop of Calcutta and the Pope, and finally obtained her formal release.
Discarding her traditional nun’s habit for Indian dress – a simple white sari with three blue stripes, Sister Teresa shifted to her new home – a rented hut in Calcutta’s poorest area. Here, she began by gathering the children of the slums (who had never been to school) and teaching them the alphabet. She had no lackboard or furniture at her disposal. She would write the letters of the Bengali alphabet in the dirt with a stick and urge the children to copy her writing. As they grew to know her, she began visiting the poor and the sick in their filthy shacks, enquiring about their needs. Her example inspired others to join her. Gradually, many of her old students and fellow nuns came forward to volunteer their services.
In 1950, Sister Teresa, after getting her Indian citizenship,founded a new Roman Catholic order – the Missionaries of Charity.Now she was known as Mother Teresa.
Mother Teresa’s heart was large enough to encompass all the outcasts of society.She and her fellow nuns founded numerous homes,including Nirmal Hriday, a home for dying destitutes, Gandhi Prem Nivas, a colony for treating and rehabilitating leprosy patients, and Shishu Bhavans or orphanages to look after abandoned infants. Meanwhile, her little congregation was steadily growing. An order that had begun in a very small way with only twelve Sisters in 1950 has now swollen to a large world-wide organization. Honours and awards were heaped on Mother Teresa,including the Bharat Ratna – India’s highest honour, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Medal of Freedom – America’s highest civilian honour, and the Nobel Prize for Peace. A legend in her own lifetime, she used her reputation to travel all over the world, raising money and support for her causes.
Mother Teresa passed away on September 5, 1997. Her funeral was attended by heads of state and ambassadors of 42 countries. The whole world mourned her passing.
n August 26, 1910, a girl was born in Skopje, Albania (now capital of Macedonia) as the youngest child of a devout Catholic family. Little did her parents know that the child, named Agnes Gonxha (meaning ‘flower-bud’) was to bring glory to their name, by becoming one of the greatest and most respected figures of the 20th century. It was she whom we know today as Mother Teresa.
Agnes’s parents, the Bojaxhius, inculcated in their children the values of generosity and charity. The home was a happy, open place where the children’s friends were always welcome. Agnes was a good student who participated actively in parish activities. As a child, she was deeply moved on hearing of the work done by Jesuit missionaries in faraway Bengal. By age 18, her mind was made up she was going to become a missionary.
Agnes joined the Sisters of Loreto and set sail for India. After training to be a nun and a teacher, she chose the name of Teresa.For 17 years, Sister Teresa taught at a girl’s convent school in Calcutta. In 1946, she had a divine revelation that changed her whole life.She felt that God was asking her to give up her cloistered, secure life and serve the poor. She decided to abide by God’s will. However, it was not easy to embark on her new mission, as she had to first obtain permission from her superiors to leave the convent. Undaunted,she applied to the Archbishop of Calcutta and the Pope, and finally obtained her formal release.
Mother Teresa’s heart was large enough to encompass all the outcasts of society.She and her fellow nuns founded numerous homes,including Nirmal Hriday, a home for dying destitutes, Gandhi Prem Nivas, a colony for treating and rehabilitating leprosy patients, and Shishu Bhavans or orphanages to look after abandoned infants. Meanwhile, her little congregation was steadily growing. An order that had begun in a very small way with only twelve Sisters in 1950 has now swollen to a large world-wide organization. Honours and awards were heaped on Mother Teresa,including the Bharat Ratna – India’s highest honour, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Medal of Freedom – America’s highest civilian honour, and the Nobel Prize for Peace. A legend in her own lifetime, she used her reputation to travel all over the world, raising money and support for her causes.
