Mother Teresa, 1910-1997, Winner of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, she joined the Catholic Sisters of Loreto in 1928. She took the name "Teresa" after St. Teresa of Avila, patroness of the Missionaries. In 1948, she came across a half-dead woman lying in front of a Calcutta hospital. She stayed with the woman until she died. From that point on, she dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name "Saint of the Gutters." She founded an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India dedicated to serving the poor. Almost 50 years later, the Missionaries of Charity have grown from 12 sisters in India to over 3,000 in 517 missions throughout 100 countries worldwide.

In 1952, she founded the Nirmal Hriday Home for the Dying in a former temple in Calcutta. It was there that they would care for the dying Indians that were found on the streets. Mother would see Jesus in everyone that she met. It didn't matter whether they were dying of AIDS or Leprosy. She wanted them to be able to die in peace and with dignity. For over 50 years, she worked selfishly helping the poor. That devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Over the last two decades, Mother had suffered from heart problems. She suffered a heart attack during a 1983 visit with Pope John Paul II. She suffered another, and more serious, heart attack in 1989. It was then that a pacemaker was installed. She suffered from malaria and was treated for a chest infection. Mother Teresa was a living Saint. ~ catholic.net

In 1952 the first Home for the Dying was opened in space made available by the City of Calcutta. Over the years, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity grew from 12 to thousands serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world. Mother Teresa created many homes for the dying and the unwanted from Calcutta to New York to Albania. She was one of the pioneers of establishing homes for AIDS victims. For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor, the dying, and the unwanted around the world.

In 1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded. Homes began to open in Rome, Tanzania, and Australia. In 1971, the first home in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York.

Mother Teresa gained worldwide acclaim with her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. Her work brought her numerous humanitarian awards, including : the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In receiving this award, Mother Teresa revolutionized the award ceremony. She insisted on a departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds, $6,000 be donated to the poor in Calcutta. This money would permit her to feed hundreds for a year.

She is stated to have said that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy.

Beginning in 1980, homes began to spring-up for drug addicts, prostitutes, battered women, and more orphanages and schools for poor children around the world. In 1985, Mother Teresa established the first hospice for AIDS victims in New York. Later homes were added in San Francisco and Atlanta. Mother Teresa was awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.

In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her native Albania (know known as Serbia) and opened a home in Tirana. By this year, there were 168 homes established in India.

On February 3, 1994 at a National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, in Washington, DC, Mother Teresa challenged the audience on such topics as family life and abortion. She said, "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Give the child to me."

Mother Teresa traveled to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. Her zeal and works of mercy knew no boundaries. In November of 1996, Mother Teresa received the honorary U.S. citizenship. ~ ewtn.com

She was beatified yesterday by another living Saint, Pope John Paul II.

-- james (elgreco1541@hotmail.com), October 20, 2003

Answers

Mother Theresa lived a saintly life. She did care for the poorest of the poor.

Is she truly a saint? Well, we all have come to be called to be saints as the scripture says. So sainthood is opened to everyone not just nuns, priests, Popes,..

-- Elpidio Gonzalez (egonval@yahoo.com), October 22, 2003.

Yes, people who live as examples of being like Jesus are saintly and become saints. Anyone is elligible; they must first begin with accepting Christ.

rod..

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), October 22, 2003.

I third the motion.

The goal of every christian is sainthood. All christians are called to Holiness.

-- james (elgreco1541@hotmail.com), October 22, 2003.