Mother Teresa

Born: 26 August 1910 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

Died: 5 September 1997 (aged 87) Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Biography: The Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, commonly known as Mother Teresa, was a Roman Catholic Religious Sister and missionary of Albanian origin who lived for most of her life in India. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, dispensaries and mobile clinics, children´s and family counselling programmes, orphanages and schools. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor". Mother Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2003, she was beatified as "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". A second miracle credited to her intercession is required before she can be recognised as a saint by theCatholic Church.    "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus." Mother Teresa