Pope Francis announced recently that India’s beloved Mother Teresa would be made a saint on 4th September 2016. Her long awaited elevation to sainthood has been approved and the date for Mother Teresa’s canonization has been finalised. On this occasion, we look at some facts you probably didn’t know about Mother Teresa:
She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu
Her name was originally Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born in 1910, an Albanian Roman Catholic in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, which was then a part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.
She came to India when she was 19
She joined the Sisters of Loreto convent in Darjeeling, India. She was inclined towards a life devoted to God and to helping others since she was 12 and she took her vows as a nun when she was 21.
She chose to take the name Teresa
She chose the name for herself to honour Saints Therese of Lisieux and Teresa of Avila; patron saints of Australia and Spain and also known to be the patron saints of missionaries, AIDS sufferers and religious orders.
She taught history and geography
For 15 years she was a teacher in Calcutta at St. Mary’s, an upscale school in Kolkata but she remained disturbed by the poverty she saw around her.
She received her calling in 1946
It was as if God was telling her what to do; and she decided that she had to follow the son of God into the slums to serve the poorest of the poor. She gave up her order and the traditional nun’s habit to adopt the simple white sari with the blue border that we all recognise.
She continued to teach
Till then she was used to a life of relative comfort but now lived in a hovel without any equipment or supplies. She taught slum kids basics about hygiene and taught them to read and write.
She started Missionaries of Charity in 1950
This was the orgnisation devoted to looking after “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, un-cared for throughout society, people who have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
When she was awarded the Nobel she requested that the $192,000 budget for the banquet be pledged for the poor instead.
Currently she is known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
She died in 1997 at age 87. 16 years later she was beatified and bestowed the title of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
