Mother Teresa’s journey: From charity to sainthood

Mother Teresa will become ‘Saint Teresa of Calcutta’ on September 4, a day before her 19th death anniversary.

Life before & after she became teresa

1910

Mother Teresa was born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu Albanian on August 26, 1910, in Yugoslavia. After having lived in Macedonia for 18 years, she moved to Ireland and then to India.

1928 At 18, future Mother Teresa decided to follow the path she was unconsciously trudging throughout her life; began her religious life in Ireland.

1929 Sent to Darjeeling to the novitiate of the Sisters of Loreto.

1931 Made the first vow, chose the name of Teresa, honoring both saints of the same name, Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux.

1931 Starting from 1931, she taught history and geography for 15 years at St. Mary’s School in Calcutta.

1931 When she became a nun in 1931, she named herself ‘Teresa’. She chose this name to honour her patron saint.

1950 Founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, in 1950. It comprises over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries.

Works of the Missionaries of Charity: They run hospices, schools, homes for people with HIV/AIDS, and orphanages; 19 homes in Kolkata alone

Vows of Missionaries of Charity: One must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, as well as a fourth vow, to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor”.

1997 She stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity in March 1997, died on September 5, 1997.

1999 Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., one of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, was appointed postulator of Mother Teresa’s cause.

2003 Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa; the beatification process was the shortest in modern history. Her official title is now Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

2016 The Vatican has scheduled September 4, 2016, as the canonisation date for Blessed Mother Teresa.

The call from God For years, Mother Teresa refused to talk about the moment when she decided to devote herself to the service of the poor. But once she said, “God called me to surrender myself to his service.”

Hour of darkness She often bemoaned the “dryness,” “darkness”, “loneliness” and “torture” she was undergoing. She compared the “experience” to hell, and said that it drove her to doubt the existence of God.

The road to sainthood 1 A bishop investigates facts of the person’s life to determine whether s/he is deemed worthy of consideration.

2 The church official must prove that the candidate a life of heroic virtues. For this, documents and testimonies related to the person’s life are collected and presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. After the nod, he/she earns the title of “Venerable”.

3 To be beatified and recognised as “Blessed”, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue. In 2002, the Vatican recognised as a miracle the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, after the application of a locket containing Mother Teresa’s picture. Besra said that a beam of light cured her cancer.

4 Canonisation requires a second miracle after beatification though the Pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is required before the canonisation. On December 17, 2015, the Pope recognised second miracle attributed to her involving healing of a Brazilian man with brain tumours.

5 Once the second miracle is received through the candidate’s intercession, the Pope declares the person a “Saint”.

Criticism English journalist Christopher Hitchens, one of her formidable critiques, said Mother Teresa treated the symptoms of poverty while ignoring the causes, and that “she was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty”.

She is also accused of accepting money from corrupt political leaders and rich fraudsters without publish any accounts.

She was widely criticised and called a “religious fundamentalist” for calling abortion as “the greatest destroyer of peace”

Some missionaries and journalists accused her of poor medical standards at her hospices in Kolkata.