Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Albania, in 1910. She was raised in a devout Catholic family and entered the Sisters of Loreto convent in Ireland at the age of 18. In 1929, she was sent to India to teach at a school for girls.
In 1948, Mother Teresa received a calling to serve the poor. She left the Sisters of Loreto and founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to caring for the poor, sick, and dying. The Missionaries of Charity now have over 4,500 sisters working in over 130 countries.
Mother Teresa’s work with the poor was well-known around the world. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her “work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”
Mother Teresa died in 1997 at the age of 87. She was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016. Her legacy is one of compassion and service to the poor and marginalized.
