Mother Teresa: From Calcutta’s Convents to Sainthood

Birth, arrival and religious vows

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 26 August 1910. Her birthplace was Skopje, then in the Ottoman Empire and now in North Macedonia.

She joined the Loreto sisters in Ireland in 1928. She chose the name Sister Mary Teresa before arriving in India.

She reached Calcutta on 6 January 1929. Calcutta is now called Kolkata. She taught at St. Mary’s Bengali school during the 1930s and 1940s.

She made her first vows in 1931. Her final vows followed on 24 May 1937. She was then known as Mother Teresa.

The name Teresa and the title Mother belong to different stages. Final vows did not mark her first choice of the name Teresa.

Sources: Vatican: her life · Nobel: her life

What did the “call within a call” mean?

On 10 September 1946, she travelled by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling. She described a new religious calling during that journey.

She called the experience a “call within a call”. She already had a vocation as a nun and teacher.

The second calling meant working directly among Calcutta’s poorest people. It did not mean returning to Skopje or joining another order in Rome.

She did not leave teaching and found a new order on that same day. Permission, preparation and the new work came in stages.

In 1948, she left convent life to work among poor people. She first took basic medical training in Patna.

Sources: Vatican: her life · Nobel: her life · Nobel life and award

Whom did the Missionaries of Charity serve?

The Missionaries of Charity was founded on 7 October 1950 in Calcutta. Its mission centred on people described as the poorest of the poor.

The order cared for people who lacked support, including abandoned and dying people. The mission was not limited to Catholic school pupils.

For example, a person without family support could need shelter and care. The person’s faith did not define the mission’s reach.

Sources: Vatican: her life · Nobel: her life · India: honours and service

What was Nirmal Hriday?

Nirmal Hriday opened in 1952 as a home for dying people. The building was a former pilgrims’ hostel near Calcutta’s Kali temple.

Local officials helped make the building available. Calling the hospice a converted temple confuses the nearby temple with the hostel building.

The home offered shelter and care to people near death. Such care should respect a person’s dignity, faith and need for relief from pain.

Accounts describe Quran readings for Muslims, Ganges water for Hindus and Catholic last rites. The aim was to respect the dying person’s own faith.

Sources: Charitable trust: her work · SBS: care and criticism

Why should the Nobel Prize and Bharat Ratna stay separate?

Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The award recognised her work helping suffering people.

India awarded her the Bharat Ratna in 1980. The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award.

The Nobel Peace Prize and Bharat Ratna came in different years. Neither award is a declaration of Catholic sainthood.

Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are other Indian civilian awards. None ranks above the Bharat Ratna.

Sources: Nobel life and award · Vatican: her life · India: honours and service · Bharat Ratna: award rules

What changed between beatification and canonisation?

Mother Teresa died in Calcutta on 5 September 1997. The Catholic Church beatified her in 2003.

Beatification is a Church recognition that comes before canonisation. It is not the same as the final declaration of sainthood.

Pope Francis canonised her on 4 September 2016. She became known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

Keep public awards separate from Church recognition. The award dates answer different questions from these Church events.

Sources: Vatican: her life · Nobel life and award · Pope Francis: sainthood · President’s message

Why do compassion and medical standards need separate questions?

Mother Teresa’s work drew admiration and serious criticism. Critics questioned pain relief, hygiene and the standard of medical care.

A 1991 visit by Robin Fox, editor of The Lancet, features in later reporting on Nirmal Hriday. He criticised the lack of effective pain relief.

Aroup Chatterjee’s 2003 book drew on more than 100 interviews. His account included claims of poor hygiene and reused needles.

Those claims describe disputed care practices. They should not be presented as proof about every facility or every period.

Defenders stressed that the homes took in people with nowhere else to go. That service does not remove the need to examine care standards.

A hospice may offer shelter and respect a person’s faith. Readers must still ask whether patients receive safe care and enough relief from pain.

For example, providing a bed answers a question about access. Providing safe treatment answers a different question about the quality of care.

A large reputation does not settle either question. Admiration for service and scrutiny of medical care can exist together.

Sources: SBS: care and criticism · New York Times: critical account · Nobel life and award

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