She compares the experience to hell and at one point says it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. Pope John Paul II recognized the first miracle in 2003, just six years after her death in 1997; Pope Francis was … Her cure was therefore attributed to the miraculous intervention of Mother Teresa. Following her death on September 5, 1997, many of her admirers and followers clamored for the nun to be named a saint in the Catholic Church. She remained in charge of her congregation as long as health permitted her to, continuing to serve among her people, and died in her Calcutta the age of 87. Under Vatican law, the first miracle attributed to a candidate for sainthood means beatification can be conferred. The daughter of an ethnic Albanian grocer, she went to Ireland in 1928 to join the Sisters of Loreto at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary and sailed only six weeks later to India as a teacher. Died. In recognition of her apostolate, she was honoured on January 6, 1971, by Pope Paul, who awarded her the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. She finally stepped down in March of 1997 and then passed away the fifth of the following September. Mother Teresa’s influence grew rapidly, also thanks to the worldwide media attention. Mother Teresa was aware of the contradiction between her public persona and private feelings. By signing up you are agreeing to our, 'There Is Not Some Separation Between Jesus and Justice.' Corrections? ", In a last-ditch effort to save his life, he was sent into surgery to drain the fluid around his brain. Mother Teresa spent most of her life trying to serve the sick and poor from her base in Calcutta. And a cure must be due to the intercession of Mother Teresa — so any recovery that involved prayers sent to other saints would not work. In an interview with the New York Times this August, Kolodiejchuk called Mother Teresa’s perseverance “heroic” in the face of the the “darkness” she felt. Mother Teresa spent most of her life trying to serve the sick and poor from her base in Calcutta. We will always remember Mother Teresa of Calcutta for her untiring will to help the last ones, the deprived and poor. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work, and the following year the Indian government conferred on her the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. After she couldn't find a solution for her own hair loss, the self-made millionaire took matters into her own hands. The theologians and medical experts who delved into the case found there was no earthly explanation for Besra's recovery. However, the medications she'd taken — intermittently, depending on what her family could afford — hadn't kept a lump from growing in her abdomen (though some reports have described Besra as suffering from cancerous tumors, the growth could have been caused by tuberculosis). She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 26 August 1910. At the age of 18, Agnes decided to dedicate herself to God's work. “I’ve never read a saint’s life where the saint has such an intense spiritual darkness,” Rev. Mother Teresa’s influence grew rapidly, also thanks to the worldwide media attention. Mother Teresa, original name Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, (baptized August 27, 1910, Skopje, Macedonia, Ottoman Empire [now in Republic of North Macedonia]—died September 5, 1997, Calcutta [now Kolkata], India; canonized September 4, 2016; feast day September 5), founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to the poor, particularly to the destitute of India. Omissions? Mother Teresa founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to the poor, particularly to those in India, that opened numerous centres serving the blind, the aged, and the disabled. Agnes becomes a nun. Later, a medallion that had touched Mother Teresa's body was placed on Besra's abdomen, and a sister said a prayer while asking Mother Teresa for help. Padre Pio and the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Saint Teresa of Avila: Spanish nun and mystic, Pope John Paul II: 10 curiosities you might not know, The story of Saint Roch of Montpellier: French…, Saint Paul of Tarso: story of a missionary, Mind-Blowing Statistics About Christianity You Need to Know, Sant’Agostino d’Ippona: philosopher, bishop and theologian. Civil War Times Editor Dana Shoaf shares the story of how Battery H of the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery found itself in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg. Our line of historical magazines includes America's Civil War, American History, Aviation History, Civil War Times, Military History, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Vietnam, Wild West and World War II. In Albanian Gonxhe means “rosebud” or “little flower”. (In addition, though the drugs he'd taken were thought to have rendered him infertile, Andrino and his wife went on to have children.). In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work, and the following year the Indian government conferred on her the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour. Mother Teresa was born. Died: September 5, 1997 in Calcutta, India. In 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation devoted to the mercy and care of the poor and those in need. In more than 40 communications, many of which have never before been published, she bemoans the “dryness,” “darkness,” “loneliness” and “torture” she is undergoing. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. She received the visit of heads of state, the most powerful men in the world, and had a long friendship with Pope John Paul II, who already considered her a living Patron of Hospitality.