"There is a huge force in the world that is growing through sharing work together..."

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa deserves a special place in this huge communication network because her vocation is a message of love. Her work demonstrates that a true conviction is always accompanied by action and that love in action is service. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 over her own objections, but she accepted it on behalf of the "poorest of the poor".

Mother Teresa is Albanian by birth; her original name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. In 1948, Mother Teresa became a citizen of India. At the age of 18, Mother Teresa attended the religious Order called Our Lady of Loreto in Ireland. She received her spiritual training in Dublin, Ireland and Darjeeling, India. In 1931, Mother Teresa took the name of Teresa from the French nun Thérèse Martin, who was canonized in 1927 with the title St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1937, Mother Teresa took her vows. She taught for 20 years in Saint Mary's High School in Calcutta, India. In September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa received another call from God to serve the poorest of the poor who live in the streets. In 1948, Pope Pious XII granted Mother Teresa permission to leave her duties as an independent nun, and she began to share her life with the poor, the sick and the hungry of Calcutta. Mother Teresa established a congregation called Missionaries of Charity. Her initial work consisted of teaching the children of the streets how to read. In 1950, Mother Teresa began to care for lepers. In 1965, Pope Paul VI put the Missionaries of Charity under the control of the Papacy and gave authorization to Mother Teresa to expand her Order to other countries. Centers have opened almost everywhere around the world to assist lepers, the elderly, the blind, and people living with AIDS. Mother Teresa also opened schools and homes for the poor and abandoned children.

Designed 12/20/1996

|Judith Corsino|[email protected]|