Mother Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now the Republic of North Macedonia). She was the youngest of three children born to Nikola and Dronda Bojaxhiu.
Agnes grew up in a middle-class Albanian family and was deeply religious from a young age. She attended Catholic school and was an active member of the girls' choir at her church. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to become a nun and dedicate her life to serving others.
In 1928, at the age of 18, Agnes left home and joined the Sisters of Loreto, a Catholic order of nuns based in Dublin, Ireland. She took the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux, a French saint known for her devotion to the poor and sick. Sister Mary Teresa was sent to Calcutta, India to teach at St. Mary's High School for Girls.
It was in Calcutta that Sister Mary Teresa truly found her calling. She was deeply moved by the poverty and suffering she saw in the city, and she began to spend her free time helping the poor and sick. In 1950, she received permission from the Vatican to leave the Sisters of Loreto and start her own order, the Missionaries of Charity.
The Missionaries of Charity quickly grew in size and popularity, and Sister Mary Teresa became known for her tireless work among the poor and her dedication to caring for the sick and dying. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work, and she was beatified (the first step towards sainthood) by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
Mother Teresa, as she came to be known, passed away on September 5, 1997 at the age of 87. She is remembered as a deeply compassionate and selfless woman who dedicated her life to helping others and spreading love and hope to those in need.