Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Life story

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, then in the Ottoman Empire and now in North Macedonia, to an Albanian family. Her father died when she was about eight. In 1928 she left home for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto, and early in 1929 she arrived in India, where she taught and later became headmistress of a girls' school in Calcutta.

In 1946, by her own account, she felt a call to serve the poorest of the poor in the slums themselves. After receiving permission she left the Loreto convent in 1948 and began working among the poor and sick of Calcutta. On 7 October 1950 the Holy See formally recognised her new congregation as the Missionaries of Charity.

The congregation opened homes for the dying, for people with leprosy and for orphans, and gradually spread to many countries. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In her final years she was often unwell and had several heart attacks; she resigned as head of the congregation in 1997.

She died on 5 September 1997 in Calcutta. John Paul II beatified her on 19 October 2003 and Pope Francis canonised her on 4 September 2016. Her congregation now has houses throughout the world. The Missionaries of Charity opened houses in India, Latin America, Africa, Europe and elsewhere, and the congregation received pontifical status in 1965. She is buried in the mother house in Calcutta, and by the time of her death the sisters worked in many countries.

Works and witness

• Taught in Calcutta as a Loreto sister from the early 1930s
• Founded the Missionaries of Charity, recognised on 7 October 1950
• Opened homes for the dying, people with leprosy and orphans
• Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

Patron of

Archdiocese of Calcutta (co-patron)

Saints from the same country

Saint Thomas the Apostle, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Joseph Vaz, Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
• Nobel Prize 1979 – Peace Prize award documentation

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.