Her blue-bordered sari became an emblem of service; the institutions behind it demand both compassion and scrutiny.
In 1948, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu left the Loreto convent school where she had taught in Calcutta and entered the city in a plain white sari with a blue border. She had permission but little infrastructure. The image of one nun among the poor later became global; the work grew into an international religious congregation and a fierce argument about what compassionate care should provide.
How did Skopje and family shape her vocation?
Born into an Albanian Catholic family in Ottoman-era Skopje, Gonxha lost her father while young. Her mother Drana's religious practice and aid to poorer neighbours influenced her. At eighteen she joined the Sisters of Loreto, travelled through Ireland and reached India in 1929, taking the name Teresa after Thérèse of Lisieux.
What was the ‘call within a call’?
While travelling by train to Darjeeling in September 1946, Teresa later said she received a call to serve Christ among the poorest. Church approval took time. In 1948 she left Loreto, received basic medical training and began teaching and visiting families in Kolkata's Motijhil area.
How did the Missionaries of Charity grow?
The Vatican recognised the new congregation in 1950. Its sisters took vows and added a commitment to wholehearted free service to the poorest. Homes were opened for dying people, abandoned children and those affected by leprosy. Volunteers and donations expanded the organisation across countries, often where formal welfare systems were weak.
Why did Nirmal Hriday become so symbolic?
Opened near Kalighat in 1952, the home offered people found dying on streets shelter, cleaning and accompaniment. Supporters saw dignity where society had abandoned people. Critics questioned medical standards, pain relief and the difference between a hospice and a clinical facility. Both the abandonment she confronted and the quality of institutional care deserve attention.
What did the Nobel Prize recognise?
Mother Teresa received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for work with suffering humanity. She declined the ceremonial banquet and asked that funds support the poor. The award amplified her ability to raise money and speak globally, while her strong opposition to abortion, contraception and divorce placed her inside political debates far beyond Kolkata.
What are the main criticisms?
Former volunteers, physicians and writers criticised hygiene, diagnosis, pain management, financial transparency and relationships with questionable donors. Defenders argue that early homes offered basic refuge rather than hospitals and that standards varied across a vast network. Responsible assessment avoids both reflexive sainthood and sensational dismissal, asking what records support each claim.
What did her private letters reveal?
Published correspondence described long periods of spiritual darkness and a felt absence of God. These letters complicated the public image of effortless certainty. Within Catholic interpretation, continuing service without consoling emotion became part of her spiritual witness. Outside it, the letters reveal the psychological cost of sustaining an absolute public vocation.
How should her legacy be judged?
She died in 1997 and was canonised as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016. The Missionaries of Charity continues worldwide. Her legacy raises a durable question: is presence with an abandoned person enough, or must compassion also demand the best available medical care and transparent institutions? A mature answer insists on both human closeness and accountable standards.
From Skopje to Calcutta
Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje in 1910, joined the Sisters of Loreto and arrived in India as a teacher. Her decision to leave the convent school and work among people living in poverty became the foundation of the Missionaries of Charity. A useful biography keeps the geography visible: her Albanian family background, Catholic formation, colonial and postcolonial Calcutta, and the local workers and volunteers who made the homes operate.
The homes and the people inside them
Mother Teresa became known for homes that cared for people who were dying, abandoned or excluded from ordinary services. The work offered food, shelter, companionship and religiously motivated care, but it was not a substitute for a public health system. Patients had different needs, and accounts of pain treatment, medical standards and consent have generated serious criticism. Both the service and the limits should be visible in a truthful history.
Faith, doubt and public reputation
Her letters, published after her death, revealed long periods of spiritual doubt that sat alongside her public certainty. The contrast complicates the familiar image of effortless holiness. She also became an international symbol through awards, photographs and powerful supporters. Celebrity brought money and access, but it made questions about donations, governance and political associations more important. A source-led article should not turn admiration into an exemption from scrutiny.
How to write the legacy fairly
The Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 recognised her work among suffering people, while later writers questioned aspects of the organisation and the mythology built around her. Readers can hold both facts at once. Visit Missionaries of Charity institutions only under their rules, do not photograph residents without consent and remember that poverty is not scenery. The central question is how care can be compassionate, skilled, accountable and freely chosen.