Mother Teresa of Calcutta By: Scott Morrison – 10E

Essential facts on Mother Teresa: Born : 26 August 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia (In 1928 she joined a religious order and took the name Teresa) Died : 5 September 1997 in Calcutta, India from natural causes Beatified (going to be beatified): 19 October 2003 by Pope John Paul II

Other Facts Founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 In 1957 the Missionaries of Charity started their work with lepers and in disaster areas

Awards Mother Teresa received Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1972 Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

Main events in her life 1910 Born: Agnes Goinxha Bejaxhiu - to Albanian parents of peasant stock in Skopje in the former Yugoslavia on August Sets up her own home to help the poor and sick of Calcutta. Said she received a 'divine call' to work among the poor Becomes an Indian citizen Sets up Missionaries of Charity Awarded the Pope John Peace Prize Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She did not want the traditional lavish banquet that accompanies the prize ceremony in Oslo each year to be held. Instead, she asked that the money which would be used to pay for the banquet be sent to the poor in Calcutta Bestowed India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

Main events in her life (cont…) 1989 Suffers heart trouble, fitted with pacemaker Asks to stand down as head of the order but is voted back in as superior general Undergoes heart surgery in the United States Further surgery in Calcutta to clear a blocked heart vessel Suffers heart failure on Aug 22. Her heart stops beating for around two minutes but she is resuscitated. She later has a heart attack and undergoes further surgery On March 13 Sister Nirmala is elected to succeed Mother Teresa as head of the Missonaries of Charity. September 5, 1997 Dies in Calcutta.

Quotes and her beliefs "What is taking place in America," she said, "is a war against the child. And if we accept that the mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another." "Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants." "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." Mother Teresa did not believe in abortion. These are some quotes of what she had to say about abortion:

Her contribution to society and other people Because of her contribution to society, the missionaries that she founded in 1950, called the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity, her missionary now, in 2003, provide food for the needy and operates hospitals, schools, orphanages, youth centres, and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. It now has branches in 50 Indian cities and 30 other countries.

The difficulties she had to overcome throughout her life Mother Teresa suffered health deficiencies from being surrounded by the sick (i.e: lepers) and was constantly battling heart attacks and poor health. Yet, she never gave up her time, effort and her life to help the people in need. However, after she had a heart surgery in 1996, in 1997, she passed away in her sleep. However, her humanity, humility and selflessness will never be forgotten.

Mother Teresa’s personal qualities Mother Teresa will soon become beautified and officially be a saint in October this year, mainly due to her personal qualities. Without these qualities, many of the things she accomplished wouldn’t have been done. Some of her personal qualities included perseverance, humanity, humility, equality, compassion and generosity. She gave her whole life to devote her time and her life for the poor, needy, sick, homeless and uneducated.

The inspiration she offers to people today in 2003 Mother Teresa of Calcutta inspires many people because of her unconditional love, her love of Christ, the humbleness she showed and her continuing to help those who were poor, sick, lepers and helpless; even those who did not show gratitude. Many people have joined missionaries because of the inspiration she has given others and are more enthusiastic to help the poor, needy and sick

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