Biography of Mother Teresa

Not to be confused with Maria Theresa (disambiguation).

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C.
Mother Teresa at a pro-life meeting in 1986 inBonn, West Germany
Religion	Roman Catholic
Order	Sisters of Loreto (1928–1948) Missionaries of Charity (1950–1997)
Personal
Nationality	Ottoman (1910-12); Serbian (1912-15); Bulgarian (1915-18);Yugoslav (1918-48); Indian (1948-1997)
Born	Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu 26 August 1910 Skopje, Ottoman Empire
Died	5 September 1997 (aged 87) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Senior posting
Title	Superior General
Period in office	1950–1997
Successor	Sister Nirmala Joshi, M.C.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C.
Bl. Mother Teresa Statue in St. Thomas Mount
Honored in	Catholic Church (Missionaries of Charity and India)
Beatified	19 October 2003, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II
Majorshrine	Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India
Feast	5 September
Patronage	World Youth Day

The Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, M.C.,^[1] commonly known as Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), was anAlbanian born, Indian Roman Catholic Religious Sister.

Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children's and family counseling programmes; orphanages; and schools. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor".

Mother Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. In late 2003, she was beatified, the third step toward possible sainthood, giving her the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". A second miracle credited to her intercession is required before she can be recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church.^[1]

Admired and respected by many, she has also been accused of failing to provide medical care or painkillers, misusing charitable money, and maintaining positive relationships with dictators.^[2][3]