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Mother
Teresa
is best known for her humanitarian work
around the world, most notably in struggling
nations to whom she brought hope and much
needed publicity. She helped develop the
Missionaries of Charity, an organization
that spread to over 100 countries and
helped both the sick and the poor. She
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and
the Medal of Freedom from the United States
in 1985.
Mother
Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 under
the name Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje
in the Republic of Macedonia. After her
father's death in 1922, Teresa's mother
began raising her under the order of the
Roman Catholic church. Fascinated by the
stories of missionaries and their work,
young Teresa decided that she would some
day follow in the footsteps of these noble
people. At the age of 18, Teresa left
her family forever to join the Sisters
of Loreto.
Teresa's
initial assignment led her to the Loreto
Abbey in Ireland so she could learn English
in order to later teach at schools in
India. She arrived in India in 1929 where
she took her novitiate in Darjeeling and
became a nun on May 24, 1931. When she
took her vows, Teresa formerly changed
her name from Agnes to Teresa after Therese
de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries.
Six years later, on May 14, 1937, Teresa
took her solemn vows while teaching in
Calcutta.
Teresa
loved to teach, but the poverty of the
area greatly disturbed her. The famine
of 1943 brought even more death and misery
to an already suffering area and violence
between Muslims and Hindus in 1946 took
it even further into despair. Only a few
months later, on September 10, 1946, Teresa
received her call from God.
While
travelling to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling,
Teresa decided she needed to "help
the poor while living among them".
So, in 1948, Teresa not only changed her
actions, but she changed her appearance
as well. She replaced the traditional
habit with a simple cloth that covered
her head. Her first mission led her to
create a school in Motijhil and to tend
to the poor and suffering people in the
community. Teresa was determined to make
a difference in the slums of India and
help those in need. People began taking
notice and even the Prime Ministher expressed
his appreciation for her work.
Mother
Teresa's work did not come without difficulty.
During her first year she had to beg for
food and supplies in order to continue
her mission. She also suffered disappointment
and frustration but never gave up.
Her
work began to pay off and on October 7,
1950, the Vatican gave Teresa permission
to start a diocesan congregation to care
for the poor, impoverished, and needy
individuals throughout society. It started
in Calcutta with a congregation of 13
members. This diocesan would later become
the Missionaries of Charity with more
than 4000 nuns in charge of AIDS hospices,
charity centers, refugee centers, orphanages,
and places to care for the poor, homeless,
disabled, blind, and victims of famine,
floods, epidemic and anyone in need.
Mother
Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying
in Calcutta in 1952 as a place where the
poor could find free hospice care. The
idea was to provide a dignified death
to those who could not afford home medial
care. Mother Teresa offered these individuals
an opportunity to die according to the
rituals of their respective religions
and received the readings of the Quran,
Ganges or Bible depending on their faith.
Mother Teresa also opened a place for
individuals suffering from Hansen's disease
(leprosy) called the City of Peace.
As
the Missionaries of Charity grew, Mother
Teresa opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan
in 1955 as a home for lost children and
homeless youth. The center is more commonly
known as the Children's Home of the Immaculate
Heart.
As
a result of her work, Mother Teresa began
attracting donations and recruits from
around the world. With the added resources,
Mother Teresa was able to add more hospices,
orphanages and leper homes all over India
and eventually in other countries including
Rome, Tanzania, Austria, Venezuela, and
eventually countries in Africa and North
America.
Over
the next few decades Mother Teresa became
actively involved in victim's rights.
She created a momentary cease fire to
save young patients in a hospital in Beirut,
she petitioned for projects to help the
needy after the collapse of Eastern Europe,
and she traveled to Ethiopia and Chernobyl
to help the victims of famine and disaster.
Her
health began failing in 1983 when she
suffered a heart attack while visiting
the Pope in Rome. Mother Teresa continued
to suffer from heart problems and was
eventually given a pacemaker in 1989.
Her health continued to decline and she
eventually died on September 5, 1997,
only a few months after resigning from
her post as head of the Missionaries of
Charity.
Mother
Teresa was given numerous awards for her
work during the course of her life, most
notably, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
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