The Epitome of Sacrifice: Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa, famously known as “Saint Teresa of Calcutta” was born on 26th August, 1910.  She was born in Skopje (now the capital of Macedonia). After 18 years of being in Macedonia, she moved to Ireland and subsequently to India. She spent a major part of her life in India itself. She devoted all her life to humanity and service of mankind. She took care of the poor and the needy and was one of the most selfless women that India has ever seen.

Mother Teresa adopted Indian citizenship, and her Indian nuns all donned the sari as their habit. In 1950 her order received canonical sanction from Pope Pius XII, and in 1965 it became a pontifical congregation). Among her great works a few are: in 1952 she established Nirmal Hriday (“Place for the Pure of Heart”). It is a hospice where the terminally ill could die with dignity. Her order also opened numerous centres serving the blind, the aged, and the disabled. Under Mother Teresa’s guidance, the Missionaries of Charity built a leper colony, called Shanti Nagar (“Town of Peace”), near Asansol, India. Time and again she received numerous awards and honours by the Indian Government. In the year 1962, the Indian government awarded Mother Teresa the Padma Shri for her services to the people of India. Padma Shri award is one of the highest civilian honours. The year 1979 proved even better for her because she received the Nobel Prize for humanitarian works. She contributed all her life in the service of the poor and the needy ones. Indeed her entire life was full of controversies. Some supported her and on the other hand, some opposed her works. Some called her goddess whereas others doubted her for having selfish motives. She received a lot of criticism for her opposition to abortion, poor condition in her houses for the dying, but she faced all with courage. A lot of books were also written on her life. Her biography was written by Navin Chawla. Apart from this she also became an important subject of film making. In the year 1983 she first suffered a heart attack while in Rome. She had gone there for meeting Pope John Paul II. Later she suffered another one in the year 1989. Post this also she suffered a lot of injuries. She passed away in September, 1997. Indeed this was one of the biggest losses for India.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa