(1910-1997)

Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 in Albania, Yugoslavia. She was named Agnes Bojaxhiu by her parents, Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. Baptised Gonxha Agnes, she received her first communion at the age of 5 ½, and was confirmed in November 1916. From a very young age she showed great compassion for all souls. Her father died when she was 8 years old, leaving her mother to raise the children with very little money. Drane raised her children lovingly yet firmly. This love and devotion greatly influenced Teresa's character. She was very involved with the vibrant Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart in which she received her spiritual guidance and teachings. At the age of 18 she left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland and become a missionary. It was there that she received the name Sister Mary Teresa, after Saint Therese of Lisieux. In December of that year she traveled to India to begin her mission, arriving in Calcutta on January 6, 1929.

In Calcutta, she taught at St. Mary's school for girls. On May 24, 1937 she made her final profession of vows, becoming the "spouse of Jesus for all eternity," as she said in her own words. From that time on she was called Mother Teresa. She continued to teach at St. Mary's. In 1944 she became the school principal.She was deeply contemplative, with a profound love for everyone, and she spent 20 years sharing her grace at St. Mary's. She was known for her giving nature, her courageousness, and her tireless capacity for hard work. She received visions over the next few months from Jesus, who desired for her to become his instrument of love and compassion. Then on September 10, 1926, she received "divine inspiration," in her calling from Jesus. He revealed to her his pain at the neglect of the poor and the unfortunate, and asked her to "Come be my light." He entreated her to find the poor and neglected, and to be of service to them, and teach them of his longing for their love, and of his infinite love for them. After a time of testing the provisions of the church, she was given permission to create Missionaries Of Charity, dedicating herself to the service of the poorest of the poor.

In the following years she visited the slums of Calcutta, ministering to families, washing sores, caring for the elderly and sick, and feeding the hungry. She began each day in contemplation with Jesus, and then went out, her rosary beads in her hands, to find and serve those who most needed the love of Jesus. The Missionaries Of Charity established foundations in several places in India, as well as in Rome, Tanzania, the Soviet Union, Albania and Cuba. She initiated many people into this work of caring for others, inspiring compassion in the heart of many people who were fortunate enough to be able to care for others.

Mother Teresa began to be recognized by the world for her work. She began receiving awards and acclaim, and in 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Her whole life and work represented her joy of loving and the greatness and dignity of every thing and every person. By 1997, the sisters of Charity numbered 4000 and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In her final years, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to do her work. She passed on September 5, 1997, and was buried in the mother house of the missionaries of Charity, where her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths.

Mother Teresa taught that all people are worthy of the love of God, and that humans must love one another in the name of Jesus in order to fulfill his promise to be fulfilled. She once said, "What the poor need, even more than food and clothing and shelter (though they need these, too, desperately), is to be wanted. It is the outcast state their poverty imposes upon them that is the more agonizing.

Mother Theresa's Words (http://www.ewtn.com/mother/html)

"A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love and chastity, convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from his love. Purity, chastity, and virginity created a special beauty in Mary that attracted God's attention. He showed his great love for the world by giving Jesus to her."

"There is a terrible hunger for love, and we all experience that in our lives, the pain, the loneliness. We must have courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them."

"You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people. Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive me."

"A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves. The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace."