Catholic Life

Our Class Saint- Saint Teresa of Calcutta 

LIVED: Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia; she joined the Sisters of Loretto in 1928, taking the name Teresa, after St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She died on September 5, 1997, in Calcutta, India.

MISSION: While on retreat in 1946, God gave her a special mission: “I heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”

ADVENTURES: In 1948, Sister Teresa left the convent school where she had happily taught history and geography to girls from well-off families for fifteen years. She moved into a nearby slum, and began teaching the children there, writing the alphabet in the dirt.

Over time, her mission grew: Many of her students joined her, and eventually, they formed the Missionaries of Charity.