Happy Birthday Mother Teresa: How would you react if I say its Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu’s birthday today? Most of you would feel agitated because you don’t know who she is. But, you would feel the utmost respect and devotion after knowing it is the real name of the Nobel Prize winner Mother Teresa. Yes! Mother Teresa was born on 26 August 1910 in an ethnic Albanian family. The Roman Catholic Church later honored her with the name Saint Teresa of Calcutta because of her exceptional humanitarian activities.
Till today, she is worshiped because of her work for the poor and sick people, and her iconic White Saree has become a symbol of peace. All the generations equally admire her due to her selfless and good deeds, and her lines continue inspiring the coming generations.
The Early Life of Mother Teresa (Happy Birthday Mother Teresa)
She was always interested in social services, and that is the reason she left her home in 1928 when she was only 18 and continued with the Sisters of Loreto, Ireland as she wanted to learn English to be with a missionary.
She reached India at the age of 19, where she spent the rest of her life. It is only after reaching India that she begins her preparation for taking religious vows after which she changed her name to Therese de Lisieux after being inspired by her patron saint and preferred hearing Teresa and taught in the Saint Mary School where she later became the principal.
What did she mean by Call within a Call?
She was once traveling from Calcutta to Himalayan and felt that Christ talked to her. She calls this incident as a “Call within the Call,” because it was a call from God, and Christ asked her to leave her job as a teacher and to start working for the society and to aid the poor and sick people living in the slums of Calcutta.
It took her some two years to get approval from the church, and once she got it, she left the old attire and chose a white saree with blue stripes for the rest of her life. She took the basic medical training from Patna and shifted to Calcutta, where she aided the unwanted and unloved people.
Awards and Recognitions won by Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa started the Missionary of Charities to serve the needed people with a handful of people, but later, the number crossed 4,000 along with the thousands of volunteers and supporters in 123 countries. Apart from the growing number of foundations, Teresa also won many honors including the Jewel of India, which is only given to a few and very special Indian citizens. She also won The Decree of Praise, Soviet Union’s Gold Medal, and The Nobel Prize in 1979, for her contributions to the society.
(Happy Birthday Mother Teresa)
