For World Peace - Mother Teresa

One hundred years ago, on August 26, 1910, Mother Teresa was born as Anjeza Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in today’s Skopje. The strict Roman Catholic upbringing by her parents matured Anjezas decision to become a nun. In 1928 she joined the Irish religious order „Sisters of the Blessed Virgin“. In the same year she travelled to Calcutta and taught in the local convent until 1945.

During a vision in 1946 Jesus gave Mother Teresa the assignment to help the poor and the needy in Calcutta. Therefore in 1950 she founded an own community which was called „Missionaries of Charity“. Their aim was to attend to the dying, sick, orphans and particularly care for the lepers in the slums of Calcutta. Today Mother Teresa’s order counts 3’000 nuns and over 500 friars. They live in 710 missions in 133 countries.

For her devoted work Mother Teresa – “the angel of the poor” – received numerous awards and distinctions. The most known are the “Nobel Peace Prize” in 1979 and the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” which is the highest civilian honour in the USA.

Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997 and was granted a state funeral in her convent in Calcutta. Already in 1999 Pope John Paul II initiated her beatification. The beatification of Mother Teresa took place in October 2003 and was therewith the fastest beatification in modern times.