Mother Teresa Birth Anniversary: Today, 26th August 2024 is the 111th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa, who is also called Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa is well-known for her selfless service towards the underprivileged and poor. Read this article to know more about her life, contributions, etc.
Who is Mother Teresa?
Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) was born in Skopje, the present capital of the Republic of Macedonia, on 26th August 1910. At a very young age, Teresa lost her father, and then she developed a very close bond with her mother who later contributed to her interest in social work and charity.
At the age of 18 years, in the year 1928, Agnes decided to become a nun and went to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin. There, she became Sister Mary Teresa and then Mother Teresa. In the next few years, she travelled to many places, including India. In this time only, she visited Calcutta (now Kolkata).
In her initial days in Kolkata, he worked at St. Mary’s High School for girls. Soon, Teresa decided to leave her convent life and wanted to work directly with the poor. The Vatican gave permission to her to leave the Sisters of Loreto, in 1948.
Contributions
After leaving the Sisters of Loreto, Mother Teresa had extensive medical training with the American Medical Mission Assistance in Patna. She also attracted volunteers and financial support to her mission. In 1950, she formed her own group, the Missionaries of Charity. Providing free services to the poorer sections of society was the aim of that group. Later, she began working with people suffering from diseases, especially from leprosy. To expand her foundation, she visited several countries.
Teresa’s group continued to expand throughout the world, with new objectives. She was honoured with various awards for her contribution to the betterment of underprivileged people. In 1979, Teresa was honoured with the Noble Prize for Peace. She requested for the prize money to be used for the poor people in India instead of a banquet.
Final Days
Throughout her life, Mother Teresa continued to help the poor people via her foundation. Her health started deteriorating during the 1980s. In 1983 and 1989, she suffered a heart attack. Shortly, after the third heart, Saint Teresa died on 5th September 1997.
Mother Teresa is also named ‘the Florence Nightingale of the twentieth century.’ In the year 2016, Pope Francis declared her as ‘Saint’ at St. Peter’s Square.
