Introduction
Catholic nun Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the sick, elderly, and needy. She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1910 and adopted the name Teresa when she entered the Sisters of Loreto at the age of 18 (Alpion, 2021). For most of her life, Mother Teresa lived in India, where the woman started the nuns’ order known as the Missionaries of Charity, which is devoted to helping the weak and disadvantaged. The woman became one of the most well-known and revered figures in the Catholic Church as a result of her unselfish aid and compassion, and she still serves as an example for many people throughout the globe. The Catholic Church recognized her heroic virtues and her intercession in the Church by canonizing her as a saint; this event has been unique in recent years and is truly important for the Catholic Church.
Discussion
Mother Teresa was raised in a Catholic household and was the youngest of three children. She sensed a tremendous desire to help others and give her life to God from a young age. The woman left her home and family when she was 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto, a group of Catholic nuns with ministries in India (Alpion, 2021). Teresa finished her basic training in Ireland, where she also took her first religious vows and learned English.
Mother Teresa was dispatched to India to complete her training and start teaching in a Calcutta-area Catholic school. She spent a few years both teaching and learning about Indian culture. Her time in Calcutta strengthened her dedication to helping the underprivileged, and she felt a strong calling to work with them. The woman took her final religious vows in 1931 and changed her name to Teresa in honor of the French nun and mystic Saint Teresa of Lisieux, who had served as an inspiration to her (Alpion, 2021). Her strong faith and desire to help others defined Mother Teresa’s religious vocation. Teresa regarded her work with the underprivileged as a means to serve God and carry out her calling to become a nun. Her encounters with the poor and suffering people of Calcutta profoundly impacted her and influenced her spiritual and humanitarian vocation.
Mother Teresa was strongly called to provide more outstanding direct care for the sick and poor in Calcutta. Teresa was inspired to act by the poverty and misery she saw on the streets of Calcutta. The Mother felt called to live among the needy and provide direct assistance to them, leaving the comfort and protection of her convent. After receiving approval from her superiors, she left the Loreto Convent in 1948 and started helping the underprivileged in the slums of Calcutta (Alpion, 2021). Mother Teresa established the Missionaries of Charity, a nunnery devoted to assisting the needy, in 1950 (Alpion, 2021). The group started off by giving the underprivileged food, shelter, and healthcare before quickly expanding to other nations. The Missionaries of Charity promptly gained a reputation for their unselfish dedication and compassion by helping some of the world’s most neglected and underprivileged communities.
The modest yet practical mission of the Missionaries of Charity was to love and serve the poorest of the poor. The foundation of the group was benevolence, simplicity, and humility. Mother Teresa and her nuns made a commitment to serving the underprivileged and living among them without seeking praise or reward. The group was dedicated to upholding the customs and traditions of the communities they worked with. A pivotal moment in Mother Teresa’s life and the start of her humanitarian mission was the formation of the Missionaries of Charity. Teresa was able to help the sick and needy on a much grander scale through her organization, and she had a significant impact on the lives of many individuals who were in need. In more than 130 countries today, the Missionaries of Charity are still working to help the poor and defenseless, upholding Mother Teresa’s original goals and objectives.
Mother Teresa’s humanitarian work was distinguished by her unselfish commitment to helping the ill and underprivileged. The woman devoted the majority of her life to helping those in need by founding hospitals, orphanages, and other philanthropic organizations in India (Alpion, 2021). Teresa also promoted the rights of the poor and disenfranchised and tried to increase awareness of the pain and poverty that exist in the world. Many groups and governments applauded her work, and she was given various honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
Health treatment for the sick and impoverished was one of Mother Teresa’s key humanitarian goals. To help those in need, she founded hospitals, clinics, and health facilities in numerous locations around India and other nations. The doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel working in these hospitals and clinics gave the sick and poor free medical attention. Teresa also made helping the dying and the underprivileged a priority in her work (Alpion, 2021). The Mother started hospices and homes for cessation where the ill and poor were treated with respect. In order to care for children who had been abandoned or orphaned, she also founded orphanages.
Mother Teresa also made an effort to increase public awareness of global poverty and suffering. She advocated for the rights of the poor and disenfranchised at conferences, protests, and events all around the world (Alpion, 2021). Additionally, Teresa used her platform to advocate for causes like hunger, poverty, and war. People of different religions and backgrounds connected with her message of compassion and service, and numerous groups and countries honored her. Many groups and governments acknowledged Mother Teresa for her humanitarian work. Multiple people all across the world are still being inspired by her work and message of compassion and service.
The process through which the Catholic Church deems a deceased person to be a saint and states that they may be invoked and honored in the Church’s liturgy is known as canonization. The canonization procedure is drawn out and complicated, and it entails a number of phases, including an evaluation of the candidate’s life and writings, a review of miracles credited to their intercession, and final confirmation by the Pope. The Archbishop of Calcutta started the process of canonizing Mother Teresa in 1999, which was two years after her passing. Her beatification, which was the first step toward canonization, was approved by Pope John Paul II in 2003 (Alpion, 2021). A miracle credited to her intercession had to be verified in order for her to be declared beatified. The benefit in question was the removal of a tumor from an Indian woman named Monica Besra’s abdomen after she had a necklace with Mother Teresa’s image placed on it.
The Catholic Church’s recognition of Mother Teresa’s heroic characteristics and her intervention in the Church through the canonization of her as a saint is significant. Following the approval of a second miracle credited to her intercession—the recovery of a Brazilian man with numerous brain abscesses—by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis authorized her canonization as a saint of the Catholic Church in 2016 (Alpion, 2021). It also celebrates the influence she had on the Catholic Church and the broader world via her life and work. Her canonization is a source of encouragement for Catholics and people of all faiths since it serves as a demonstration of the effectiveness of kindness and selfless service.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mother Teresa was a nun who practiced Catholicism and devoted her life to helping the sick, elderly, and needy. Her strong faith and desire to help others were defining characteristics of her early life and convent vocation. In several nations around the world, she established the Missionaries of Charity, a nunnery devoted to helping the poor and vulnerable. Her humanitarian activity was distinguished by her unselfish commitment to supporting the ill and impoverished, founding hospitals, orphanages, and other benevolent organizations, as well as spreading awareness of global poverty and suffering. As a result of her heroic qualities, her fervent prayers on behalf of the Church, and the influence of her life and work on both the Catholic Church and the wider world, she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Through the work of the Missionaries of Charity, her legacy is still being carried on, and her message of kindness and service continues to motivate countless people all over the world.
Reference
Alpion, G. (2021). Mother Teresa: The saint and her nation. Bloomsbury Publishing.