Once Mother Teresa was asked about the biggest honor
ever bestowed upon her. Everybody expected her answer to be the Noble
Prize, but she replied that the title of 'Mother' was the biggest honor
she had ever received. So true!
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born in Albania as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.
At the age of 18, Agnes attended the religious order called 'Our Lady of
Loreto' in Ireland. 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.
Touched by the utter poverty and misery in India, she decided to devote
her whole for the welfare of the poor and finally became a citizen of
India in 1948. Mother Teresa established a congregation called the
Missionaries of Charity.
She began her work in India by teaching the children of the streets how
to read. In 1950, Mother Teresa began to also care for lepers. In 1965,
Pope Paul VI put the Missionaries of Charity under his protection and
gave Mother Teresa permission to expand her Order to other countries.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 over her own objections, but she
accepted it on behalf of the "poorest of the poor". In August
1997, she departed to the divine abode.
