Reformer
🇦🇱Mother Teresa
1910–1997 · Albanian (Indian mission) · Missionary, Nun & Nobel Laureate
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Biography
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, known to the world as Mother Teresa, was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, in present-day North Macedonia, to Albanian parents. She felt called to religious life at twelve and joined the Sisters of Loreto at eighteen, taking the name Teresa. After years of teaching at a girls' school in Calcutta, she received what she described as a 'call within a call' on September 10, 1946—a direct summons from Christ to leave the convent and serve the poorest of the poor in the slums. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation devoted to caring for 'the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society.' Her Missionaries of Charity grew from a small group in Calcutta to a global movement with over 4,500 sisters operating in 133 countries, running homes for the dying, orphanages, schools, and care centers for those with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and leprosy. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. After her death on September 5, 1997, her private letters revealed decades of profound spiritual darkness and inner suffering, making her faith even more remarkable. She was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.
Key Works
Mother Teresa's primary work was the Missionaries of Charity, the global religious congregation she founded in 1950, whose homes for the dying in Calcutta became an emblem of Christian compassion. Her speeches, particularly her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address (1979), articulated a theology of the poor as Christ in disguise. Her collected writings appear in 'In My Own Words' and 'A Simple Path.' 'Come Be My Light,' published posthumously, revealed her interior spiritual life and decades of spiritual darkness, sparking worldwide reflection on suffering and faith. Her example generated the global lay movement of co-workers and volunteers serving the poor.
Legacy
Mother Teresa's legacy is inseparable from the image of the small, sari-clad nun bending over the dying in Calcutta's streets—one of the most recognizable icons of Christian charity in history. The Missionaries of Charity she founded continue to serve the poorest of the poor in over 130 countries. Her 1979 Nobel lecture remains a foundational text on human dignity and the sacredness of the poor. Canonized in 2016, she is venerated as a saint by Catholics worldwide and respected across faith traditions as an exemplar of sacrificial love. Her posthumously revealed spiritual darkness has also become a profound resource for those experiencing the 'dark night of the soul.'