Mother Teresa
Born in the former Yugoslavia in 1910 and beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was considered throughout the world to have been a “living saint.” Twenty years after joining the Sisters of Loretto at age 17, she gained permission to leave the security of convent life and began a new life among the poorest of Calcutta’s poor. Depending solely on divine providence for all her needs, she initially lived alone in a tiny apartment furnished only with a bench and sleeping mat. Eventually she was joined in her work by a few of her former students and was able to found a new religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, which grew to serve the poor from 450 centers throughout the world.

In her 45 years of service to the world’s abandoned poor, Mother Teresa established medical clinics and food programs that continue to benefit thousands of people each day. She created homes for abandoned children, prostitutes, drug addicts, AIDS victims and the dying destitute throughout the world. Additionally she was acclaimed for her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. Her many humanitarian awards, which she accepted always on behalf of the world’s poor, included the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.