Mother Teresa

World History Honors

Scrapbook

Maisie O’Meara

Childhood

• Born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia to mother, Drane, and father, Nikola

• Birth name: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

• Youngest of three children

• Father died when she was eight and left family in financial debt

Young Gonxha

Nikola

Childhood

• Was a member of the youth group at her parish called Sodality

• Felt a strong call from God at age 12

• Drane, her mother, encouraged Gonxha’s vocation

• Gonxha knew she was going to be a missionary

Drane

Gonxha

Path to Becoming “Mother Teresa”

• Received First Communion when she was five and a half

• Was confirmed in November of 1916• Involved in religious formation at her parish

First Communion

Confirmation

Path to Becoming “Mother Teresa”

• Left home at 18 years of age to join the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland

• Trained in Dublin for a few months• Made initial vows to become a nun on May 24, 1931• Received name “Sister Mary Teresa” after St. Thérèse of

Lisieux

Sisters of Loreto

St. Therese of Lisieux

Work

• Taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta from 1931 to 1943

• Became school’s principal in 1944

• 1948-received permission from convent to leave school and devote time to help the poor

• Started a school for slum children

Cathedral in Calcutta

School in the slum

Work

• September 10, 1946-she received her inspiration from Jesus

• Lord told her that the poor had been neglected and needed cared for

• Jesus asked her to create a religious community to be of service to the poor

• October 7, 1950-established Missionaries of Charity

The poor inCalcutta

Missionaries of Charity

Work

• Took a nursing course with Medical Mission Sisters in Patna• Went back to and lived with Little Sisters of the Poor while working

in slums• She took care of families

– Washed children’s sores– Cared for elderly– Nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB

Medical Mission Sisters Little Sisters of the Poor

Mother Teresa’s Establishments

• Missionaries of Charity officially established in the Archdiocese of Calcutta on October 7, 1950

• 1960’s-Mother Teresa sent Sisters to other parts of India to serve the poor

• 1965- she was encouraged by Pope Paul VI to open a house in Venezuela

India

Missionaries of Charity

Mother Teresa’s Establishments

• Eventually there was a house in every continent

• From 1980 on a house was opened in every communist country– Soviet Union– Albania – Cuba

Soviet Union

Albania

Mother Teresa’s Establishments

• 1963-established Missionary of Charity Brothers

• 1976-established Contemplative Sisters

• 1979-established Contemplative Brothers

• 1984-Missionary of Charity Fathers

Missionary of Charity Brothers

Missionary of Charity Fathers

Mother Teresa’s Establishments

• Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and Sick and Suffering Co-Workers– People of various faiths and nationalities with whom she shared her

spirit of prayer and kind, humble works

• Lay Missionaries of Charity• Corpus Christi Movement for Priests

– For those who had a charitable spirit like her

Co-Workers of Mother Teresa

Corpus Christi Movement for Priests

Last Years

• March 1997- elected her successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity

• Met Pope John Paul II one last time• Died September 5, 1997

Pope John Paul II

Mother Teresa’s Funeral

Accomplishments

• Mother Teresa’s sisters reached 4,000 members

• 610 foundations established in 123 countries

• Indian Padmashri Award in 1962

• Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971

Sisters

Pope John XXIII

Accomplishments

• Nehru Prize in 1972– For her great

promotion of international peace

• Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

• Balzan Prize in 1979

Receiving Nehru Prize

Receiving Nobel Peace Prize

Accomplishments

• Was honored a state funeral by the Government of India• Body was buried in the Mother House of the

Missionaries of Charity• Less than two years after death-Pope John Paul II

permitted opening of her Cause of Canonization

Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity

Mother Teresa’s Tomb

Legacy

• Tomb almost immediately became a popular spot of pilgrimage and prayer for all people

• Society of missionaries that she started have spread all over the world• Became one of the most significant symbols of compassion to the world• Will always be remembered as one of the greatest “Mothers to the Poor”

Mother Teresa

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?”- Mother Teresa