Mother Teresa

Saint

Teresa of Calcutta

MC
Saint; Teresa of Calcutta; MC
	Mother Teresa in 1995
Virgin
Born	Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; 26 August 1910; Üsküp, Kosovo vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died	5 September 1997 (aged 87); Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	19 October 2003, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	4 September 2016, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis
Major shrine	Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Feast	5 September
Patronage	World Youth Day; Missionaries of Charity; Archdiocese of Calcutta (co-patron);
Title	Superior general
Personal
Religion	Catholicism
Nationality	Ottoman subject (1910–1912); Serbian subject (1912–1915); Bulgarian subject (1915–1918); Yugoslavian subject (1918–1943); Yugoslavian citizen (1943–1948); Indian subject (1948–1950); Indian citizen (1950–1997); Albanian citizen (1991–1997); Honorary American citizenship (awarded 1996);
Denomination	Catholic
Signature
Organization
Institute	Sisters of Loreto (1928–1948); Missionaries of Charity (1950–1997);
Senior posting
Period in office	1950–1997
Successor	Sr. Nirmala Joshi, MC

Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu MC (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian: [aˈɲɛzə ˈɡɔndʒɛ bɔjaˈdʒi.u]; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa,^[a] was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. Born in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire,^[b] she was raised in a devoutly Catholic family. At the age of 18, she moved to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto and later to India, where she lived most of her life and carried out her missionary work. On 4 September 2016, she was canonised by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The anniversary of her death, 5 September, is now observed as her feast day.

Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that was initially dedicated to serving "the poorest of the poor" in the slums of Calcutta. Over the decades, the congregation grew to operate in over 133 countries, as of 2012^[update],^[6] with more than 4,500 nuns managing homes for those dying from HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis, as well as running soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, orphanages, and schools. Members of the order take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and also profess a fourth vow: to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."^[7]

Mother Teresa received several honours, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. However, she was also a controversial figure, drawing criticism for her staunch opposition to abortion and contraception, as well as for the poor conditions in some of her charitable institutions. Her life and work have inspired books, documentaries, and films. Her authorized biography, written by Navin Chawla, was published in 1992, and on 6 September 2017, she was named a co-patron of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta alongside Saint Francis Xavier.

^ "St. Teresa of Kolkata". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ Banerjee, Manik (6 September 2017). "Vatican declares Mother Teresa a patron saint of Calcutta". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^ "Mother Teresa to be named co-patron of Calcutta Archdiocese on first canonization anniversary". First Post. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference Cannon2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Kur Nënë Tereza vinte në Tiranë/2" [When Mother Teresa came to Tirana/2]. Shqiptari i Italisë (in Albanian). 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^ Poplin, Mary (2011). Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service. InterVarsity Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-8308-6848-3. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^ Muggeridge (1971), chapter 3, "Mother Teresa Speaks", pp. 105, 113

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] "St. Teresa of Kolkata". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2023.

[2] Banerjee, Manik (6 September 2017). "Vatican declares Mother Teresa a patron saint of Calcutta". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.

[3] "Mother Teresa to be named co-patron of Calcutta Archdiocese on first canonization anniversary". First Post. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2017.

[Cannon2013-4] Cite error: The named reference Cannon2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] "Kur Nënë Tereza vinte në Tiranë/2" [When Mother Teresa came to Tirana/2]. Shqiptari i Italisë (in Albanian). 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.

[8] Poplin, Mary (2011). Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service. InterVarsity Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-8308-6848-3. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2020.

[9] Muggeridge (1971), chapter 3, "Mother Teresa Speaks", pp. 105, 113

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