The Ministry of Teresa
In 1948, when she was 38 years old, Teresa departed the convent in India she had been living in and set out to create her own ministry, the Missionaries of Charity, where she attended to the most forsaken souls in Calcutta — the sick, the dying, the leprous. On top of that, she reached out to the city's many homeless children of the city, giving them shelter and love. The home she opened to welcome them, Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, above, admitted any child who arrived there.
Teresa's ministry arrived at a critical moment in the city's history, when its population was swelling with an influx of refugees from the fighting that had broken out between India and Pakistan upon the end of British rule.
The Sisters
Inspired by a vision of Jesus, Teresa began her endeavor alone, but was soon joined by others. Until a branch for Catholic brothers was founded in 1963, the Missionaries of Charity were all women.
Inspired by a vision of Jesus, Teresa began her endeavor alone, but was soon joined by others. Until a branch for Catholic brothers was founded in 1963, the Missionaries of Charity were all women.
Day in the Life
The sisters rose at 4:40 am, attended mass, then some fanned out across the city in search of the sick and dying, while others stayed behind to help out at the orphanage. In the photo above, the sisters wash their saris.
Outreach
The children's home also welcomed pregnant homeless mothers and homeless mothers with infants.
The children's home also welcomed pregnant homeless mothers and homeless mothers with infants.
The Home
In 1957, when these photos were taken, Teresa was little known outside the circle of Calcutta homeless who found refuge in her ministry.
In 1957, when these photos were taken, Teresa was little known outside the circle of Calcutta homeless who found refuge in her ministry.
Steadfast
The weight of the work on Teresa was extraordinary. Half of the patients at the Missionaries of Charity hospice carried communicable diseases. Oftentimes, she would have to tell a mother that there was no more milk.
The weight of the work on Teresa was extraordinary. Half of the patients at the Missionaries of Charity hospice carried communicable diseases. Oftentimes, she would have to tell a mother that there was no more milk.
100 Years
When she first entered the sisterhood at the age 18, Agnes Gongxha Bojaxhiu chose the name Teresa in admiration for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century Carmelite nun who pioneered the "little way," a philosophy that stressed doing small things, with great love, for God.
When she first entered the sisterhood at the age 18, Agnes Gongxha Bojaxhiu chose the name Teresa in admiration for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century Carmelite nun who pioneered the "little way," a philosophy that stressed doing small things, with great love, for God.
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