Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian-born Indian Roman Catholic nun and founder of the Missionaries of Charity. She was a very devout catholic who dedicated her life to caring for well-being of others and helping those in need of love and affection. Her beliefs and values of life reflected her religious identity and purpose, which developed and contributed to her life and work.
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, in Macedonia, on the 26th of August, 1910. From her childhood, Agnes attended prayers and received first communion at the age of five. Her father died when she was just eight years old leaving the family in financial straits. Her mother raised her children firmly as Roman Catholics …show more content…
Its mission was to care for “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society”.
It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta and by 1997 it had grown to more than 4000 sisters. In 1952 Mother Teresa opened a home for the dying in Calcutta. She converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Home of the Pure Heart. Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith. “A beautiful death is for people who live like animals to die like angels-loved and wanted.”
The Missionaries of charity established a home and clinics for those suffering from Hansen’s disease, commonly known as leprosy, providing medication, bandages and food. Later in 1955 they opened a children’s home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth. The order spread through India in the 1960’s and soon expanded through the …show more content…
In 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi movement for priests and in 1984 founded with Fr. Joseph Langford the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5000 sisters worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries. Her work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John Paul xx111 Peace Prize, 1971, the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding, 1972.
After Mother Teresa’s death in 1997, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the third step towards canonization. This process requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa. In 2002, the Vatican recognised as a miracle the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, after the application of a locket containing Mother Teresa’s picture. The beatification of Mother Teresa took place on 19th October 2003, bestowing on her the title “Blessed”. A second miracle is required for her to process to