A short Bio
Born Agnes Gonxha Boujaxghiu in what is now Macedonia on August 26th 1910
In 1950, the community she founded, the Missionaries of Charity, was officially recognized by the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The Vatican recognized the organization as a pontifical congregation the same year. What began as an order with 12 members has grown to more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices and other charity centers worldwide.
In 1952, she established a home for the dying poor -- the Nirmal Hriday (or "Pure Heart") Home for Dying Destitutes. There, homeless people -- uncared for and unacceptable at other institutions -- were washed, fed and allowed to die with dignity.
In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize. Accepting the award in the name of the "unwanted, unloved and uncared for," Mother Teresa wore the same $1 white sari she had adopted when she founded her order. It was to identify herself with the poor.
When Pope Paul VI gave her a white Lincoln Continental, she auctioned the car, using the money to establish a leper colony in West Bengal.
In 1982, during the siege of Beirut, she convinced the Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas to stop shooting long enough for her to rescue 37 children trapped in a front-line hospital.
When the walls of Eastern Europe collapsed, she expanded her efforts to communist countries that had shunned her, embarking on dozens of projects.
Though Mother Teresa's good deeds were indisputable, her life was not without controversy. A 1994 British television documentary, "Hell's Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta," accused her of taking donations without questioning the sources. She also received some criticism for her strong views against abortion and divorce.
Mother Teresa was undeterred by criticism, stating, "No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile and do your own work."
And she did ... returning to work time and again after serious health setbacks. Following a nearly fatal heart attack in 1990, Mother Teresa announced her intention to resign as head of her order. During a secret ballot of her sisters, she was re-elected almost unanimously. The only dissenting vote? Her own.
1910: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu born August 27 in Skopje, in what is now Macedonia, the youngest of three children of an Albanian builder.
1928: Becomes novitiate in Loretto order, which ran mission schools in India, and takes name Sister Teresa.
1929: Arrives in Calcutta to teach at St. Mary's High School.
1937: Takes final vows as a nun.
1946: While riding a train to the mountain town of Darjeeling to recover from suspected tuberculosis, she said she received a calling from God "to serve him among the poorest of the poor."
1947: Permitted to leave her order and moves to Calcutta's slums to set up her first school.
1950: Founds the order of Missionaries of Charity.
1952: Opens Nirmal Hriday, or "Pure Heart," a home for the dying, followed next year by her first orphanage.
1962: Wins her first prize for her humanitarian work: the Padma Shri award for distinguished service. Over the years, she uses the money from such prizes to found dozens of new homes.
1979: Wins Nobel Peace Prize.
1982: Persuades Israelis and Palestinians to stop shooting long enough to rescue 37 retarded children from a hospital in besieged Beirut.
1983: Has a heart attack while in Rome visiting Pope John Paul II.
1985: Awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.
1989: Has a second and nearly fatal attack. Doctors implant a pacemaker.
1990: Announces her intention to resign, and a conclave of sisters is called to choose successor. In a secret ballot, Mother Teresa is re-elected with only one dissenting vote -- her own -- and withdraws request to step down.
1991: Suffers pneumonia in Tijuana, Mexico, leading to congestive heart failure, and is hospitalized in La Jolla, California.
1993: Breaks three ribs in fall in May in Rome; hospitalized for malaria in August in New Delhi; undergoes surgery to clear blocked blood vessel in Calcutta in September.
1996: November 16, receives honorary U.S. citizenship.
1996: Falls and breaks collarbone in April; suffers malarial fever and failure of the left heart ventricle in August; treated for a chest infection and recurring heart problems in September. Readmitted to hospital with chest pains and breathing problems November 22.
1997: March 13, steps down as head of her order
IN HER OWN WORDS
On poverty
"I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?" -- 1974 interview.
"When I see waste here, I feel angry on the inside. I don't approve of myself getting angry. But it's something you can't help after seeing Ethiopia." -- Washington 1984.
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On the Nobel Peace Prize
"I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." -- Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 1979.
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On war
"I have never been in a war before, but I have seen famine and death. I was asking (myself), 'What do they feel when they do this?' I don't understand it. They are all children of God. Why do they do it? I don't understand." -- Beirut 1982, during fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas.
"Please choose the way of peace. ... In the short term there may be winners and losers in this war that we all dread. But that never can, nor never will justify the suffering, pain and loss of life your weapons will cause." -- Letter to U.S. President George Bush and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, January 1991.
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On abortion
Abortion "is murder in the womb ... A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me."
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On retirement
"God will find another person, more humble, more devoted, more obedient to him, and the society will go on." -- Calcutta 1989, after announcing her intention to retire.
"I was expecting to be free, but God has his own plans." -- Calcutta 1990, when the sisters of her order persuaded her to withdraw her resignation.
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On her life's work
"The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth. There are no slums up here.'" -- Quoted as telling Prince Michael of Greece in 1996.
