This August 26 marks the 112th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa. (File)
Mother Teresa is hailed for her relentless work for the welfare of the society and for inspiring countless people across the world. This August 26 marks the 112th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa, who was declared a saint in 2016. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Early life
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu Skopje, Macedonia, on August 26, 1910, and was always religiously inclined. It was at the early age of 12 that Mother Teresa felt the call of God and decided to become a missionary. She left her parental home in 1928 and went on to join an Irish community of nuns called Sisters of Loreto that had missions in India.
After a few months of training in Dublin, Mother Teresa was sent to India where she taught at a school from 1931 to 1948 in Kolkata, then Calcutta. It is believed that during this time the sight of poverty-stricken people moved her and she decided to devote herself to the upliftment of the destitute.
Despite having no funds to support her work, Mother Teresa strived for the poorest of the poor in the city and came up with an open-air school for slum children. On October 7, 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, an organisation that selflessly works for the poor irrespective of their creed, colour or social class.
Honours
Mother Teresa's extraordinary work has been recognised across the world and has earned her several awards and honours. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was also felicitated with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1980. Mother Teresa also received the Balzan Prize in 1979 and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards. She was canonised as a saint by the Pope at a ceremony in Vatican in 2016.
Here are some quotes by Mother Teresa.
- If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
- Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
- When you don't have anything, then you have everything.
- Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
- A life not lived for others is not a life.