Mother Teresa was always her own person, independent, obedient, yet challenging some preconceived notions and expectations.

She was born Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Yugoslavia, on August 27, 1910. Though so much of her young life was centered in the Church, Mother Teresa later revealed that until she reached 18, she had never thought of being a nun. At 18, Gonxha decided to follow the path that seems to have been unfolding throughout her life. She chose the Loreto Sisters of Dublin, missionaries and educators founded in the 17th century to educate young girls.

In 1928, the future Mother Teresa began her religious life in Ireland, far from her family and the life she'd known.

One year later, Gonxha was sent to Darjeeling, India to the novitiate of the Sisters of Loreto. In 1931, she made her first vows there, choosing the name of Teresa. She was then sent to St. Mary's, a high school for girls in a district of Calcutta.

There she began a career teaching history and geography for the next 15 years.

Starting in 1946, Teresa pursued every road to follow what she thought was the direction God was pointing her. She heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.

She faced difficulties. She had to be released formally from living within the convents of the Sisters of Loreto. She had to confront the Church's resistance to forming new religious communities, and receive permission from the Archbishop of Calcutta to serve the poor openly on the streets. She had to figure out how to live and work on the streets.

Teresa first went to Patna for a few months to prepare for her future work by taking a nursing course. In 1948 she received permission from Pius XII to leave her community and live as an independent nun. So back to Calcutta she went and found a small hovel to rent to begin her new cause.

Wisely, she thought to start by teaching the children of the slums. She made use of what was available—writing in the dirt. She worked hard to make the children of the poor literate, to teach them basic hygiene. As they grew to know her, she began visiting the poor and ill in their families and others all crowded together in the surrounding dirty shacks, inquiring about their needs.

Teresa was not alone for long. Within a year, she found more help than she expected. Many seemed to have been waiting for her example to open their own floodgates of charity and compassion. Young women came to volunteer their services and later became the core of her Missionaries of Charity. Others offered food, clothing, the use of buildings, medical supplies and money.

From their birth in Calcutta, nourished by the faith, compassion and commitment of Mother Teresa, the Missionaries of Charity have grown like mushrooms. New vocations continue to come from all parts of the world, serving those in great need wherever they are found.

Until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa continued her work among the poor. Honors too numerous to mention had come her way throughout the years, as the world stood surprised by her care for those usually thought of little value.

obedient

服从的

preconceive

预想

unfold

展开

missionary

传教士团体

novitiate

见习

convent

女修道院

hovel/shack

小屋

slum

贫民窟

literate

识字的

hygiene

卫生