Mother Teresa's 111th Birth Anniversary: Interesting Facts About Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Add as a preferred source on Google

Mother Teresa, baptised as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary who dedicated her life to serving the poor and the needy. She was born on 26 August 1910 and it is her 111th birth anniversary this year (2021). She considered everyone equal and believed that humanity has no religion.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta was well-known for her selflessness and helpful nature. Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. She was praised worldwide for her kindness and humility and also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Likewise, there are many interesting facts about her life which you might not be aware of.

Interesting Facts About Mother Teresa

• Mother Teresa was born to Albanian descent parents who were deeply associated with local church and city politics.
• Though she was born on 26 August, she was baptized on 27 August and consider the day as her "true birthday".
• After her father's death in 1919, her mother instilled in her a great commitment to charity and service to the poor, at the time when she was just 8 years old.
• She was deeply inspired by the lives of missionaries in Bengal and at the age of 12, she felt a call to dedicate herself to religious life.
• She left home when she was 18 to join as a missionary in Dublin (Ireland) with the Sisters of Loreto, leaving behind her mother and sister.
• Six years later in 1929, she came to Darjeeling, India, where she also learned Bengali.
• She took the vows of a nun on 24 May 1931 and chose to be called Teresa.
• She taught for nearly 20 years in the Loreto Convent school but later decided to serve the poor.
• On 10 September 1946, she experienced a divine call to help the needy of Calcutta. In the year 1948, she began her missionary work for the people of Calcutta, leaving behind her Loreto lifestyle.
• In the year 1950, she founded a charity named Missionaries of Charity to serve the poor, hungry, naked, blind, homeless and other unloved and burdened people.
• She first opened a hospice for AIDS and leprosy patients.
• She was against abortions and thus, openly expressed her views on contraception which received heavy criticism from the people.
• She was fluent in 5 different languages - Albanian, Bengali, English, Serbian and Hindi.
• She died 5 days after the death of another famous woman of the time, Lady Diana Spencer, on 5 September 1997.
• She was 18 times voted under the category of the top 10 most admirable women.
• Mother Teresa was declared a saint nine years after her death, as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.