She was born on August 26, 1910, as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Growing up in Yugoslavia (now Macedonia), she practiced Catholicism. Her mother taught her to always help others. This would inspire much of the work Mother Teresa did as an adult.

At age 12, Mother Teresa (then Agnes) felt she had a calling. She believed she was meant for religious life. Six years later, she moved to Ireland. There, she became a nun with the Sisters of Loreto. She took the name Sister Mary Teresa.

In 1931, Sister Mary Teresa was sent to Kolkata and became a teacher. In 1937, she took her final vows and became known as Mother Teresa. She taught for a total of 17 years. She even became the principal of her school. In 1948, though, Mother Teresa left the school to pursue her second calling. She believed she was meant to help people living with extreme poverty and illness.

Mother Teresa started an open-air school for children living in Kolkata. She would go on to found more schools and a hospice in the city. People from all over the world heard about her work. Some came to Kolkata to help. In 1950, Mother Teresa founded her own order—The Missionaries of Charity.

The Missionaries of Charity spread all over the world. It sought to help those living in poverty.  The order set up orphanages, nursing homes, and health clinics. Mother Teresa also opened a colony for people with leprosy in the 1960s. She later opened Gift of Love in New York City. It offered care to those living with HIV/AIDS.

Mother Teresa received a great deal of attention for her work. In 1965, Pope Paul VI gave the Missionaries of Charity a decree of praise. Mother Teresa was also named the Jewel of India. She was given the Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee. In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Of course, Mother Teresa’s life wasn’t without problems. There have been reports of poor hygiene and health care in the centers she opened. Later in life, she also used her public platform to speak against divorce, birth control, and abortion. Some people didn’t like that she supported policies they saw as harmful. The Order of the Missionaries of Charity has also faced investigation. It has been accused of funding fraud and other illegal practices.

In 1997, Mother Teresa passed away after a long period of ill health. In 2016, she became a Catholic saint. In Catholicism, saints are holy people believed to be in Heaven. On Earth, they lived meaningful lives that others look to as examples. The Catholic faith believes people can ask saints to pray for them. Each saint has a feast day, and St. Mother Teresa’s is September 5.

How would you describe Mother Teresa’s legacy? Do you enjoy helping others? Doing a good deed for just one person can make a big difference in the world. Spend some time today thinking about how you can make the world a better place.

 

Mother Teresa GK Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mother Teresa was Born on
Answer: 26 August 1910

2. Mother Teresa was Born in
Answer: Skopje

3. Mother Teresa Father Name
Answer: Nikolle

4. Mother Teresa Mother Name
Answer: Drana Bojaxhiu

5. Mother Teresa Original Name
Answer: Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu

6. Mother Teresa is also known as
Answer: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

7. In which year Mother Teresa arrived in India
Answer: 1929

8. In which place Mother Teresa started her work
Answer: Darjeeling

9. The Founder of Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata
Answer: Mother Teresa (1950)

10. The founder of Shanthi Nagar
Answer: Mother Teresa

A home for those suffering from leprosy

11. In which year Mother Teresa started the first Home for the Dying
Answer: 1952 (Kolkata)

12. Nirmal Shishu Bhavan
Answer: 1955

A home for the orphans and homeless youth

13. The Missionaries of Charity Brothers
Answer: 1963

14. The first house founded outside India in
Answer: Venezuela (1965)

15. The Missionaries of Charity Sisters
Answer: 1976

16. The Corpus Christi Movement for Priests
Answer: 1981

17. The founder’s of Charity Father’s
Answer: Mother Teresa and Joseph Langford (1984)

18. Awards

Ramon Magsaysay Award = 1962

Padma Shri = 1962

Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding = 1969

First Pope John XXIII Peace Prize = 1971

Templeton Prize = 1973

Nobel Prace Prize = 1979

BHARAT RATNA = 1980

Order of Australia = 1982

19. Died on
Answer: 5 September 1997

20. Died in
Answer: Kolkata (West Bengal)

21. Successor
Answer: Nirmala Joshi

22. Who is known as the “Saint of Gutter”
Answer: Mother Teresa

23. 100th Anniversary of Mother Teresa birth Government of India issued special 5 Rupee Coin

24. “The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice” book was written by
Answer: Christopher Hitchens

25. Mother Teresa’s official Biography was written by
Answer: Navin Chawla

26. Mother Teresa Women’s University is situated
Answer: Kodaikanal (Tamilnadu)

27. Beatified
Answer: 19 October 2003 – Saint Peter’s Square (Vatican City)

28. Beatified by
Answer: Pope John Paul II

29.The second miracle was credited to Motham Teresa by Pope Francis in December 2015

30. Mother Teresa was declared a Saint by Pope Francis in the Vatican City on
Answer: 4 September 2016

31. The official Logo (Emblem) for the Canonisation of Mother Teresa was designed by
Answer: Karen Vaswani

Answer: Merry Prema

33. Who said that Sainthood for Mother Teresa is a “Memorable and Proud Moment”
Answer: Narendra Modi

34. Mother Teresa’s Statue unveiled in Chennai on
Answer: 4 September 2016

35. Winner of UK’s Prestigious Founders Award 2016
Answer: Mother Teresa

36. The 4th edition of Mother Teresa International Film Festival (MTIFF) 2016 was conducted in
Answer: Kolkata (West Bengal)

37. Mother Teresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Science
Answer: Pondicherry

38. The book ‘A Call to mercy: Hearts to love, Hands to Serve by Mother Teresa” was written by
Answer: Brian Kolodiejchuk

39. Winner of Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice 2013
Answer: Sushmitha Sen

40. Winner of Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice 2014
Answer: Anuradha Koirala

41. Winner of Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice 2015
Answer: Bilquis Bano and Gladys Staines

42. Famous Words

• Peace begins with a smile
• If you judge people, you have no time to love them
• Spread love everywhere you go,let no one ever come to you without leaving happier
• There are no great things , only small things with great love, happy are those
• If you can’t feed a hundred people,then feed just one
• If we have no Peace,it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other
• Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless
• Live simply so others may simply live
• Intense love does not measure it just gives
• God doesn’t require us to success, he only requires that you try