At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. From to Mother Teresa taught at St. Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming.
This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work. Today the order comprises Active and Contemplative branches of Sisters and Brothers in many countries. In both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the Brothers was founded. Perhaps not the most enlightened of views, to put it lightly and somewhat ironically. I submit however that the reason she is being acknowledged by the Vatican in this ostentatious and rather costly fashion is much more to do with the fact that she represents the greatest PR victory of the Church in the past hundred years.
The question is: was a woman who preached virtue in suffering rather than trying to alleviate it and took money from dictators really that saintly at all? Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? She continued to devote her life to caring for the sick, poor, and disadvantaged. In the process, she challenged stereotypes, broke boundaries, and taught us the true essence of charity. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a missionary nun who was one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century. She founded the Missionaries of Charity — a religious organization dedicated to helping the poor.
Through this, she was able to create programs and initiatives that made her an icon of charity around the world. The world came to know her as the hunched old lady wearing a white sari with blue borders. But her stature belied her strength and her passion for serving the poorest of the poor. Her father was a businessman who traded medicines and other goods and also worked as a construction contractor.
He was also involved in politics and died when Mother Teresa was just 8 years old. At a young age, she became fascinated with the lives of missionaries in Bengal and their charitable efforts.
Then at 12, she decided to commit herself to religious life. Four years later, she left her home to join the Sisters of Loreto in Rathfarnham, Ireland with the intent of becoming a missionary. After a year in the Loreto Convent, she was sent to Darjeeling in India to begin her novitiate.
There she learned Bengali and later became a principal at a charity school near their convent. Though far from luxurious, her life as a school principal was comfortable. But God had a different plan for her. In , the Bengal province experienced one of its worst famines. Close to 3 million people died of starvation, malaria, and other illnesses. Many families became homeless and women became widows. And since widows were regarded as second-class citizens in the Bengali culture, many of them end up begging on the streets of cities like Calcutta.
Inside the walls of the school, Sister Teresa, as she was known at that time, had a pretty comfortable life. But she had always been acutely aware of the poverty surrounding her. She could see the women begging on the streets and the emaciated orphans who often become victims of violence.
Then a train ride going to a retreat changed her life forever. Armed with basic medical training, strong faith, and a great desire to make a difference, Mother Teresa hit the streets of Calcutta. She saw the horrors that street dwellers have to face every single day. With this, she wasted no time turning her passion into action.
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