Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in Yugoslavia and joined a convent at age 18, taking the name Sister Teresa. She taught at a Catholic girls school in India for many years. While on a train in 1948, she felt called by God to leave the convent and minister to the poor on the streets of Calcutta. She opened the first Home for the Dying that year, where people could pass away with dignity. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity order dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa received numerous honors for her work, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, before her death in 1997 at age 87.
2. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Agnes Bojaxhu was
born in Yugoslavia in
1910. She entered the
convent at the age of
18, taking the name of
Sr Teresa. She sailed for
India and for
years, taught at a girls’
Catholic school. Most of
the students were from
wealthy families.
3. While on a train returning from her annual retreat, Sister Teresa
felt the call of God to leave the security of her convent life.
She believed God was calling her to minister to the poorest of the
poor on the streets of Calcutta.
4. She responded to this call, and left the convent in 1948. She lived
very simply, and spent her days picking up dying people from the
streets.
In 1950 she opened the first Home for the Dying, where the
outcasts of Calcutta could die with dignity.
5. Many girls she had taught at the Loretto convent school joined her
in her work. They too, dedicated their lives to Jesus in serving the
very poor. In 1950, Sr Teresa’s order became known as the
Missionaries of Charity.
6. She taught her nuns to live very
simple lives, to pray constantly
and to see the face of Jesus in
every person, especially the
poorest of the poor.
7. She and her sisters set up
homes not only in third
world countries, but also
in New York and Rome.
She saw spiritual poverty
as the worst poverty of all.
8. Mother Teresa won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1979 for her
service of love to the world. She
accepted the award –
..”in the name of the hungry, the
naked, the homeless, the
crippled, the blind, the lepers, of
all those people who feel
unwanted, unloved, uncared for
throughout society, people who
have become a burden to the
society and are shunned by
everyone.”
- Mother Teresa’s Acceptance Speech
9. Awards that she got
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1962 - Padma shri award
1971 - Pope John XXIII peace prize
1975 - Albert Schweiter international prize
1976 - Pacem in Terris award
1978 - Balzon prize
1979 - Noble Peace Prize
1983 - Order of Merit
1985 - Medal of Freedom
1994 - Golden Honour of the Nation [Albania]
1996 - Honorary citizenship of USA
1998 - Pope John Paul II begins the process to make her a saint.
This process is still going on !
11. Missionaries of Charity
• October 7th 1950 – Vatican permission to set up
Missionaries of Charity, to care for the hungry, the naked,
the homeless, the crippled, the blind and lepers.
• She started with 13 nuns now there are over 4,000
12. Where she helped
• 1982 – siege of Beirut
• 1986 - Chernobyl
• 1985 - Ethopia
• 1988 - Armenia
13. Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87.
Her Missionaries of Charity continue to grow and serve the
poorest of the poor.
Her Order is currently going through the process of having
Mother Teresa declared a saint.
15. The greatness of this unpretentious nun
from India is in her deeds. Everyone
reveres her relentless work in the
rehabilitation of the poor. Mother
Teresa had immense love and compassion
for all living beings. That is probably
why her statements resonate in our
hearts.
16. MOTHER TERESA
IN HER OWN WORDS
“Do not wait for
leaders;
do it alone,
person to person.”
Mother Teresa taught us by her
sample what it really means to
‘live’ the Gospel.
18. ON HER LIFE’S
WORK
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing
is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean
would be less because of that missing
drop.”
"The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates
of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth.
There are no slums up here.'"
-- Quoted as telling Prince Michael of Greece in 1996.
“The miracle is not that we do this work, but
that we are happy to do it.”
19. “Many people mistake our work for our
vocation. Our vocation is the love of
Jesus.”
“Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative
of the dignity of my high vocation,
and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to
disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or
impatience.”
“There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a
meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and
clean someone's house. That says enough.”
“In this life we cannot do great things. We can
only do small things with great love.”
20. “At the end of our lives,
we will not be judged by
how many diplomas we
have received, how much
money we have made or how
many great things we have done. We will
be judged by „I was hungry and you gave
me to eat. I was naked and you clothed
me. I was homeless and you took me
in.‟” ’”