Mother Teresa: A Biography

This collection of excerpts from a biography of Mother Teresa provides an overview of her life and work. It outlines her early life in Skopje, her decision to join the Loreto Sisters and move to India, and her subsequent call to work with the poorest in Calcutta. The text highlights the founding and growth of her order, the Missionaries of Charity, detailing their work establishing homes for the dying (Nirmal Hriday), children (Shishu Bhavan), and lepers (Shantinagar). It also touches on the order’s expansion globally, the challenges and criticisms Mother Teresa faced, and her impact on the world stage.

The Life and Legacy of Mother Teresa

Writing about Mother Teresa can be both frustrating and challenging, as her personality appears rife with contradictions upon closer inspection. While on the surface she lived a simple life devoted to her calling and faith, understanding her motives and purposes can be difficult. Her life is described as not inherently “interesting” in the modern sense, lacking great adventures or crises, and biographies often portray her reverentially, making it easy to forget she was a human being.

However, the sources present a biography of Mother Teresa highlighting significant aspects of her life and work:

• Early Life and Calling: Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, she first felt the desire to become a nun at the age of twelve, despite never having seen a nun. Her decision to pursue a religious life did not surprise her mother, Drana, perhaps due to Gonxha’s chronic poor health. Her chosen religious name, Teresa, was in honor of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the patron saint of missions.
• Entry into Loreto and Departure: Gonxha left her family and country at age 18 or 19 to join the Loreto Sisters, first in Dublin, Ireland, and then in India. She believed she was carrying out God’s plan by serving as a Loreto nun and teacher, instructing children of the poor.
• The “Call Within a Call”: On September 10, 1946, while traveling by train to Darjeeling for a retreat, Mother Teresa experienced what she described as “another call”. She later stated the message was clear: she was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them, considering it an order from God. This day is now celebrated annually by the Missionaries of Charity as Inspiration Day.
• Founding the Missionaries of Charity: After receiving permission to leave Loreto and train in Patna, Mother Teresa returned to Calcutta in December 1948 and began her work in the slums, dressing in a white sari like a poor Bengali woman. She started by teaching children with a stick in the mud. She was joined by her first associate, Subashni Das, in March 1949, who became her first postulant. The Missionaries of Charity congregation was formally approved on October 7, 1950. The order has four vows: chastity, poverty, obedience, and a fourth vow to give “whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor”. They committed to working only for the poor and living rigorously poor lives themselves, believing they served Jesus in the poor. Mother Teresa emphasized “starting right on the ground,” a defining concept for the constitution of the order.
• Expanding Work and Recognition: Early initiatives included opening a school, a hostel for the ill and dying, and a feeding program. Key locations established were Nirmal Hriday (Home for the Dying) in 1952 and Shishu Bhavan (Home for children) in 1953. She began working with lepers in 1957 and opened Shantinagar (Place of Peace for Lepers) in 1965. The Missionaries of Charity Brothers were established in 1963. The order expanded outside of Calcutta in 1959 and outside of India in 1965 after receiving permission from the Pope to become a Society of Pontifical Right. By the 1980s, the order was opening many new foundations globally. Mother Teresa also established hospices for people with AIDS in 1987.
• Public Profile and Celebrity: Mother Teresa became increasingly well-known, first in Calcutta and then internationally. Her interview with Malcolm Muggeridge in 1968 exposed her work to a wider audience, leading to donations and increasing fame. Muggeridge’s documentary and book, Something Beautiful for God, significantly contributed to her global recognition. Despite her fame, she tried to use it to benefit the poor and insisted on relying on God’s providence rather than aggressive fundraising.
• Criticisms and Controversies: As her public profile grew, so did criticism and scrutiny. Criticisms included nonchalance over death, being a nuisance to doctors, and accusations of trying to convert Hindus. Later criticisms intensified regarding the acceptance of funds from questionable donors, the standard of care in her facilities, financial transparency, and political stances. She faced particular criticism for her strong stance against abortion, her silence on religious persecution in Albania, accepting donations from dictators, and her involvement in a campaign for Christian Dalits, which Indian Church officials criticized. The 1994 documentary Hell’s Angel and Christopher Hitchens’ book The Missionary Position were particularly critical, questioning her motives, finances, and methods. Despite challenges, she typically accepted criticism with a smile and continued her work.
• Later Life, Death, and Sainthood: Mother Teresa’s health deteriorated in her later years, suffering heart attacks in 1983 and 1989. She considered stepping down as head of the order due to ill health. She died on September 5, 1997, after a heart attack. Her death was followed by a state funeral held by the Indian government. In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa, a step toward sainthood. This process included investigating her life and work, hearing testimony from both supporters and critics like Christopher Hitchens, and requiring a posthumous miracle. The Church’s investigation concluded her mission was to help individuals and bear witness to God’s presence, not fight for social change. Her legacy continues through the Missionaries of Charity and thousands of volunteers. The order trademarked her name in 2003 to prevent commercial exploitation.

Despite the controversies and criticisms, many viewed Mother Teresa as a living saint even before her beatification. Supporters emphasized her deep faith and belief that she was an instrument of God. She is remembered for her commitment to rigorous poverty, her ability to inspire volunteers, and her conviction that Christ was present in everyone she served, particularly the poorest of the poor.

The Missionaries of Charity: Founding and Legacy

Based on the sources provided, the Missionaries of Charity are the religious congregation founded by Mother Teresa, dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor.

Here are some key aspects of the Missionaries of Charity discussed in the sources:

• Founding and Inspiration: The idea for a new congregation came to Mother Teresa on September 10, 1946, as “another call” to leave her convent and help the poor while living among them, which she saw as an order from God [prev turn, 10]. This call was to “quench the infinite thirst of Jesus Christ on the Cross for love of souls”, a tenet so important that chapels built by the order would be inscribed with the words “I thirst”. The congregation was formally approved on October 7, 1950 [prev turn, 32], as a new congregation limited to the diocese of Calcutta. Eleven young women began their lives as postulants that same day.
• Mission and Vows: The aim of the Missionaries of Charity is to quench Jesus Christ’s thirst for love through evangelical counsels and “whole-hearted free service to the poorest of the poor”. Their particular mission is to labor at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor. They are called THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY. Members take the traditional vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, adding a fourth vow: “to give whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor”.
• Rigorous Poverty: A core principle is the rigorous application of the vow of poverty. Mother Teresa believed their food and dress must be like the poor, serving the poor because they are Jesus. They saw rigorous poverty as their safeguard to prevent becoming like other religious orders that started serving the poor but ended up servicing the rich and themselves. They aimed to live like those who have nothing in order to understand and help them, being “poor by choice” while the poor are “poor by birth”. This included eating simple food, wearing habits made from old sacks, and initially going without things like tea or sufficient shawls. The constitution stipulated they would not own buildings or property, though this was later modified. They often went without necessities like cooking fuel, eating raw wheat, or eating bitter curry. They also resisted owning anything, even medical equipment, that wasn’t widely available to the poor. Mother Teresa continually reminded her sisters that because the poor did without, so must they, leading to donations like washing machines or carpets being given away.
• Early Work and Activities: Upon returning to Calcutta in December 1948, Mother Teresa began her work in the slums, dressing in a white sari [prev turn, 21]. She started by teaching children [prev turn, 22]. The Missionaries of Charity began a feeding program, starting with the Bengali custom of mushti bhikka (a handful of rice). Early initiatives included opening a school, a hostel for the ill and dying (Nirmal Hriday), and a feeding program [prev turn]. Other key locations established were Shishu Bhavan (Home for children) [prev turn, 66] and Shantinagar (Place of Peace for Lepers) [prev turn, 72]. By the early 1980s, their activities included slum schools, daily meal programs feeding nearly 50,000, Shishu Bhavans caring for thousands of children, homes for the dying, and mobile clinics treating millions. They also established hospices for people with AIDS. A chart in the Motherhouse listed their various activities: child welfare, educational programs, nutritional daycares, family planning centers, dispensaries, leprosy clinics, rehabilitation centers, shelters, homes for unwed mothers, and hospices for the sick and dying.
• Growth and Global Expansion: Initially confined to the diocese of Calcutta by church law, they received permission to expand within India in 1959. Houses were established in Delhi and Jhansi, and in Bombay. News of their work reached high levels, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru attending a dedication. The order was granted permission to become a Society of Pontifical Right by Pope Paul VI in February 1965, allowing them to work outside India. The first international home opened in Venezuela in 1965, where they also engaged in religious education due to a lack of priests. By 1970 in Caracas, they received permission for nuns to administer Holy Communion to the sick and dying. In 1968, Pope Paul VI invited them to work in Rome. They quickly expanded, opening missions in Sri Lanka (1967), Tanzania (1968), and Australia (1969), with a new center opening approximately every six months well into the next decade. By 1979, there were 158 foundations globally. By the 1980s, they were opening many new foundations globally [prev turn], though the bulk of their work remained in India. In 1988, they opened a mission in a Moscow hospital, unprecedented since the Russian Revolution. The growth of the order, particularly attracting vocations, was seen as remarkable at a time when religious vocations were generally declining.
• Missionary Brothers and Volunteers: The Missionary Brothers of Charity were established in 1963 for work better suited for men, such as working with young boys. Led by Brother Andrew (Ian Travers-Ball), they adopted a less regimented, more adaptable style. They worked with poor boys at the Howrah railway station and in homes providing refuge and vocational training, and were involved with mobile leprosy clinics. They also grew rapidly and opened houses globally, often where the Sisters were not present. Thousands of volunteers also assist the Missionaries of Charity and Brothers. Come and Sees are typically young people working for a few weeks or months. Co-Workers, a term borrowed from Gandhi, number in the thousands globally and come from various backgrounds and religions. They are forbidden from fundraising or publicity but publish a newsletter. There is also a branch called Sick and Suffering Co-Workers who offer prayers.
• Internal Life and Philosophy: Life in the order involves a long, grueling daily routine starting before 5 A.M. with prayers, meditation, and mass, followed by a simple breakfast, and being out on the streets by 7:45 A.M.. Sisters travel in pairs for safety and mutual help. Requirements for joining include physical and mental health, ability/desire to learn, common sense, and a cheerful disposition. Those who remain sever ties with their families, rarely returning home. Mother Teresa emphasized the work was religious, serving Jesus in the poor, rather than social work. The order largely maintained practices based on pre-Vatican II theology, emphasizing the spirit and the glory of suffering. Mother Teresa exerted rigid control, resisting interference from priests or outsiders and limiting sisters’ access to outside information like newspapers or television, believing it a distraction. She also generally did not want her sisters to be more educated than those they served, with the exception of those pursuing medical degrees.
• Challenges and Criticisms: The Missionaries of Charity faced various challenges and criticisms. Some of the poor resisted them, seeing them as trying to convert them to Catholicism. Families were sometimes ashamed of their daughters’ vocations. Early on, Hindu Brahmins complained about Nirmal Hriday, accusing the nuns of conversion attempts and petitioning the city for their removal. They faced setbacks like leaving Belfast due to feeling unwanted or deaths from a fire in London and a bridge collapse in India. As Mother Teresa gained international fame, criticisms intensified [prev turn]. Concerns were raised about the standard of care in their facilities, including a lack of simple testing procedures and insufficient pain relief at Nirmal Hriday, which was contrasted with Mother Teresa having access to modern medical care for herself. Some critics argued their approach was outmoded, focusing on individual charity rather than addressing the root causes of poverty or advocating for social change. Mother Teresa’s strong stance against abortion and contraception also drew criticism. There were controversies regarding financial transparency, as the order did not keep detailed records of donations and spending. Accusations were made regarding the acceptance of funds from questionable donors like Jean-Claude Duvalier. Allegations surfaced about potential misuse of funds by Co-Workers, leading Mother Teresa to initially consider disbanding the group. Mother Teresa’s involvement in a campaign for Christian Dalits in India also drew public criticism, even from Indian Church officials, who argued it created schism. Critics like Christopher Hitchens questioned her motives, accusing her work of being propaganda linked to fighting abortion and running institutions more as a “cult based on death and suffering” than for the “honest relief of suffering”.
• Legacy: At the time of Mother Teresa’s death, the Missionaries of Charity included over 4,000 sisters, 400 brothers, and thousands of volunteers (Co-Workers, Lay Missionaries of Charity, and Missionary of Charity Fathers). Thousands of volunteers continue to come to Calcutta annually. The order trademarked Mother Teresa’s name, the order’s name, and its logo in 2003 to prevent commercial exploitation. Their direction is carried out as Mother Teresa originally envisioned. The core of their legacy is their sacred treatment of all people, finding the presence of Jesus in everyone, especially the poorest of the poor, and performing each task for the poor as if doing it for Christ himself. Mother Teresa’s spirit is said to live on through her volunteers.

Missionaries of Charity: Work Among the Poorest

Based on the sources provided, the Missionaries of Charity were founded by Mother Teresa with a specific mission focused entirely on working with the poorest of the poor.

Here’s a discussion of their work with the poor:

• Core Motivation and Philosophy: The underlying motivation for the Missionaries of Charity’s work was deeply religious. Mother Teresa felt a call from God to serve the poor while living among them [prev turn, 10]. Their central tenet was to “quench the infinite thirst of Jesus Christ on the Cross for love of souls” [prev turn, 12]. They took a unique fourth vow “to give whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor” [prev turn, 12, 38, 40]. Mother Teresa emphasized that they should not serve the poor like they were Jesus, but because they are Jesus. Their labor was aimed at the “salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor” [prev turn, 40], seeing the work as a means to find God and bear witness to his presence. They treated all people with sacredness, finding the presence of Jesus in everyone, especially the poorest, and performed tasks for the poor as if doing them for Christ himself. Mother Teresa explicitly stated, “We are first of all religious; we are not social workers, not teachers, not nurses or doctors, we are religious sisters. We serve Jesus in the poor”.
• Location and Scope of Work: The Missionaries of Charity began their work in the slums of Calcutta, specifically the Motijihl area. Their activities expanded within Calcutta to areas like Kalighat. Initially limited to the Calcutta diocese, they later expanded throughout India, opening houses in Delhi, Jhansi, Bombay, and Ranchi. After gaining permission to work outside India, they expanded globally, establishing homes and missions in Venezuela, Rome, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Guatemala, the Philippines, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, London, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Moscow [85, 88, 97, 108, 121, prev turn]. They worked in various locations where the poor were found, including streets, alleyways, railway platforms, city streets, gutters, garbage heaps, and hospitals [27, 56, 65, 71, 87, prev turn].
• Who They Served: Their focus was always the “poorest of the poor”, particularly those who were unwanted or had no family. They cared for the sick and dying, children, lepers [prev turn, 50, 75], and those suffering from diseases like cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, and AIDS. They worked with street children, orphaned and wayward boys, unwed mothers, the homeless, crippled and mentally disabled, alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and the elderly and lonely.
• Key Activities and Services:Education: Starting with teaching children in the slums using a stick in the mud [prev turn, 6, 25, 27, 50]. They also taught children catechism. Vocational training was provided for older children, such as typing, carpentry, needlework, radio repair, and farming.
• Feeding Programs: Initiated by collecting mushti bhikka (a handful of rice) [prev turn, 36]. They ran daily meal programs feeding thousands [prev turn], providing food and sometimes clothing and soap.
• Medical Care and Shelters: They provided basic medical assistance, learning simple procedures like giving injections and administering medicines. They established and ran:
• Homes for the dying (Nirmal Hriday) [prev turn, 30, 50, 65].
• Homes for children (Shishu Bhavan) [prev turn, 50, 71].
• Homes and clinics for lepers (Shantinagar, mobile clinics) [prev turn, 50, 76, 87].
• Dispensaries and rehabilitation centers.
• Shelters for the homeless, crippled, and mentally disabled.
• Homes for unwed mothers.
• Hospices for the sick, dying, and AIDS patients [prev turn, 50, 108].
• Mobile clinics treating millions [prev turn].
• Personal Care and Support: They focused on providing comfort, solace, and dignity to the dying. They also visited families, attended community events, gave baths to dirty children, and taught hygiene. In the West, they engaged in family visits and prison ministry.
• Approach to Work and Poverty: A defining characteristic was their commitment to “rigorous poverty” [prev turn, 44]. They believed their food and dress should be like the poor to understand and help them, seeing themselves as “poor by choice” while the poor were “poor by birth”. They often went without necessities like cooking fuel, adequate shawls, or even simple comforts like tea. They resisted owning material goods or expensive equipment, even medical, that wasn’t widely available to the poor, believing this was a safeguard against becoming like other orders that ended up servicing the rich. Mother Teresa herself was willing to perform the most menial tasks, such as sweeping floors or cleaning toilets. The daily routine was rigorous, starting early with prayers and mass, followed by being out working by 7:45 AM. They largely maintained practices based on pre-Vatican II theology, emphasizing the glory of suffering. Their approach focused on individual charity and helping whom they could, rather than advocating for social change or addressing the root causes of poverty.
• Challenges and Criticisms: Despite their dedication, the Missionaries of Charity faced challenges. Some poor individuals resisted their help, sometimes fearing conversion attempts. Early on, Hindu Brahmins complained about perceived conversion efforts at Nirmal Hriday and petitioned for their removal. Families of young women joining the order were sometimes ashamed. As they gained fame, criticisms intensified regarding the standard of care in their facilities, including a lack of basic testing and insufficient pain relief [prev turn, 119, 124, 126]. Their approach was sometimes seen as outmoded, focused on charity rather than systemic change. Critics also pointed to Mother Teresa’s strong anti-abortion and anti-contraception stance as being at odds with addressing issues like overpopulation.

Overall, the work of the Missionaries of Charity, as described in the sources, was characterized by a profound religious motivation to serve Jesus in the poorest, a commitment to extreme poverty, and a wide range of direct care activities for the most vulnerable, often carried out in difficult conditions.

Life and Suffering in Calcutta

Based on the provided sources and our conversation history, life in Calcutta was characterized by stark contrasts, profound suffering among the poor, and a complex social and political landscape.

Here’s a discussion of life in Calcutta as depicted in the sources:

• A City of Contrasts and Overcrowding: In the 1920s, Calcutta was the political capital of British India, a dynamic and cosmopolitan city. However, it was also described as overcrowded and spilling into the streets and alleys. It held cultural richness but was also a “cesspool of human misery and degradation”. The contrast with a place like Darjeeling, a fashionable hill resort with clear mountain air and refined culture, was startling. Even by the time Mother Teresa began her focused work with the poor, Calcutta had the third highest per-capita income in India, yet it was a “vast sea of suffering and despair”.
• Widespread Poverty and Dire Living Conditions: Poverty was a pervasive issue in Calcutta, readily apparent to those who lived and worked there. The city teemed with humanity, and thousands of people were plunged into unrelenting poverty, especially after independence and partition led to overcrowding with job-seeking Hindus.
• Street Life: The streets were a central feature of life, crowded with beggars and lepers. People were born and died hourly in the streets. Thousands were “pavement dwellers”. The sick and starving, weakened by disease and hunger, often simply dropped wherever they were to die.
• Slums: Life in the slums, such as Motijihl and Tiljala, was particularly harsh. Motijihl, despite its name “Pearl Lake,” had no lake, but a large brackish sump for water, raw sewage flowing into open drains, and garbage piled on the streets. Residents lived in small hovels with dirt floors. Basic services like drainage, sewage, drinking water, and electricity were often absent. The shabby environment of the area even affected the Loreto school. By the later period, there were 3,000 official slums housing more than two million people.
• Sanitation and Hygiene: Sanitation was a major problem; 44 percent of the city did not have sewers. Overflowing sewage contaminated available food and water.
• Health Crises and Lack of Care: Calcutta faced significant health challenges. Diseases such as cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, and AIDS were prevalent [prev turn]. Tuberculosis was a malady that claimed many nuns. During the Great Famine, thousands died in the streets daily. Malnutrition and overcrowded living conditions contributed to illness. Hospitals were overcrowded and sometimes turned people away. Leprosy was a growing problem, with thousands left with nowhere to go after a hospital closure. The social stigma attached to leprosy meant that even recovered individuals were shunned.
• Social Vulnerabilities: The city’s poor faced numerous social challenges. Unwanted infants were regularly abandoned and left to die in clinics, on the streets, or in garbage bins. Orphaned, sick, and disabled children were cast into the streets to fend for themselves, often resorting to begging or petty crime. Young girls and infants were particularly at risk due to a cultural bias valuing boys. Unwed mothers were sometimes cast out of their homes. The city also had populations of alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and the elderly and lonely needing care [prev turn].
• Historical and Political Context: Mother Teresa arrived in India at a time of growing unrest for self-government. The city experienced bloody riots between Hindus and Muslims in August 1946, leaving shops burned and sewers filled with bodies. Calcutta was also impacted by the Great Famine, which brought thousands fleeing rural areas to the city, adding to overcrowding and chaos, and claiming millions of lives in the wider region. The city faced challenges due to the partition following India’s independence. Calcutta officials were sometimes embarrassed by the extent of problems like the number of unwanted children.
• Limited Formal Support: Despite the scale of the problems, the City of Calcutta and relief organizations struggled to provide sufficient help. The city’s governing body, the Calcutta Corporation, was described as powerless to help the growing numbers of poor.

In summary, life in Calcutta, particularly for the “poorest of the poor,” was a harsh reality of severe overcrowding, lack of sanitation and basic services, rampant disease, and social abandonment, set against a backdrop of political change and social conflict, which Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity sought to address through direct intervention and care.

Mother Teresa and the Catholic Church

Based on the sources and our conversation history, the Catholic Church played a foundational and central role in the life of Mother Teresa and the establishment and operation of the Missionaries of Charity.

Here’s a discussion of the Catholic Church as depicted in the sources:

• Early Life and Religious Formation: Mother Teresa’s upbringing was deeply rooted in the Roman Catholic community in Skopje, which, although small (less than 10 percent of the population in Albania), was close-knit. Her mother, Drana, was a devout Catholic who went to Mass almost every day and ensured her children practiced their religion and incorporated it into their everyday lives. Young Gonxha (Mother Teresa) was heavily influenced by the Sacred Heart church in Skopje, which served not only for religious teaching but also as a center of Albanian culture and identity. She showed an early tendency for religious devotion, participating in church activities, joining the choir, helping organize parish festivals, and teaching catechism to younger children. Father Franjo Jambrekovic, a Jesuit priest at Sacred Heart, significantly influenced her by sharing news of Jesuit missionary efforts in Bengal, India, and describing the horrible conditions of the poor there. He also established Catholic youth groups and the Sodality of Children of Mary, which Gonxha joined and became active in, offering prayers for Catholic missions. Father Jambrekovic provided guidance when she was discerning her life’s calling.
• Joining a Religious Order (Loreto Sisters): Gonxha chose to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), known as the Loreto Sisters. This order was founded by Mary Ward with a vision of women living and acting in the world, carrying Christ’s love to the poor, downtrodden, and helpless, inspired by the Gospels and modeled on the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The Loreto Sisters were invited to India by Irish church officials to provide Catholic education, initially for the daughters of Irish Catholic military families but also providing free education for children of the poor and operating an orphanage and widow’s asylum. Gonxha entered the Loreto Novitiate in Darjeeling, a period of study and prayer before final vows. Life in the convent was disciplined and rigorous, including teaching at the affiliated school, studying English and Bengali, attending confession weekly, and listening to readings about the lives of saints or the rules of Loreto. She took her first vows as Sister Teresa in 1931 and her final vows in 1937, committing herself to the Loreto Sisters and a lifetime of poverty, chastity, and obedience in service to the Lord [prev turn].
• The “Call” and Seeking Church Approval: Mother Teresa felt a distinct call from God in 1946 to serve the poor while living among them [prev turn, 26, 27, 48]. This required leaving the Loreto convent, a significant step that needed approval from the Church hierarchy. She sought advice from Father Celeste Van Exem, a Belgian Jesuit priest who became her spiritual advisor. Archbishop Ferdinand Périer of Calcutta was initially against the idea of a lone nun living among the poor on the streets. He ordered her transferred and cautioned silence. However, he also discreetly made inquiries about the feasibility and potential public and political reaction to such an idea, consulting with other priests like Father Julien Henry and the father general of the Jesuit Order. A major difficulty was church law, which disfavored the unnecessary growth of religious vocations for women, requiring a demonstration that existing orders weren’t doing the proposed work. The Daughters of St. Anne in Calcutta already ministered among the poor, dressed in Indian style, and ate simple food, posing a challenge to Mother Teresa’s proposal. Mother Teresa insisted her vision was different, focusing on the “poorest of the poor,” being more mobile, and starting from scratch.
• Gaining Permission: Exclaustration and Diocesan Congregation: Mother Teresa’s request to leave the convent required an indult of exclaustration or secularization. The mother general in Rathfarnham granted permission to write to Rome for exclaustration, allowing her to remain a Loreto Sister while working outside the cloister. The Vatican granted this request in July 1948, with a condition for review after a year. After her year of working in the slums with growing support and a group of young women joining her, Archbishop Périer decided she would remain outside the cloister and supported recognizing her group as a congregation for the diocese of Calcutta. This required Rome’s final approval.
• Founding the Missionaries of Charity: Mother Teresa drafted a constitution for the new order, outlining traditional vows (poverty, chastity, obedience) and adding a fourth vow: “to give whole-hearted and free service to the poorest of the poor”. This constitution and the fourth vow were accepted by the Vatican. On October 7, 1950, the Missionaries of Charity was recognized as a new congregation in the fold of the church, headed by Mother Teresa. The goal of the order, as stated in the constitution, was deeply religious: “to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus Christ on the Cross for love of souls” and to “labor at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor,” revealing God’s salvation.
• Expansion and Pontifical Right: Initially confined to Calcutta, the Missionaries of Charity sought to expand throughout India. Archbishop Périer relented, and new houses were established in other Indian cities. News of their work reached high levels of the Indian government and the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in India, such as Cardinal Valerian Gracias in Bombay. Mother Teresa later sought permission from Pope John XXIII for the Missionaries of Charity to become a Society of Pontifical Right, which would allow them to work in other countries. Pope Paul VI granted this in February 1965. The first home outside India was opened in Venezuela in 1965, following an invitation relayed by Archbishop James Robert Knox. Pope Paul VI also invited her to work in Rome in 1968. Mother Teresa also established the Missionary Brothers of Charity with permission from the archbishop of Calcutta in 1963, though under Church law, she could not head a male congregation.
• Doctrine, Theology, and Vows: The Missionaries of Charity were explicitly defined as “religious sisters” serving Jesus in the poor, not primarily social workers or medical professionals [prev turn, 131]. Their theology was rooted in pre-Vatican II Church teachings, emphasizing the spirit over the flesh and the “glory of suffering”. They believed their rigorous poverty made them understand and help the poor better, seeing themselves as “poor by choice”. They aimed to treat each person as they would treat Jesus Christ, performing tasks for the poor as if doing them for Christ. Their vow of poverty included not owning buildings or property, though this was later modified.
• Social Stances and Church Teaching: Mother Teresa adhered strictly to Church teachings on matters like birth control and abortion, which generated controversy. She promoted “Holy Family Planning” based on the rhythm method, the only method sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Her strong stance against abortion was a significant part of her public message, including during her Nobel Prize speech. In the context of the caste system in India, Mother Teresa became involved in a campaign for scheduled caste recognition for Christian Dalits, asserting that Christianity did not recognize caste. However, her actions and statements on this issue caused friction with other Christians and non-Christians.
• Internal Dynamics and Criticism: Mother Teresa’s traditional approach and rigorous discipline were sometimes seen as outmoded, particularly in contrast to changes in other religious orders following Vatican II reforms, which aimed to make religious life more modern and accessible. Some within the Church criticized her resistance to higher education for her nuns, believing it was necessary for effective service. There were also criticisms regarding the standard of care in her facilities, which some felt did not align with modern medical standards, contrasting with the work of other Catholic sisters in the hospice movement. Despite criticisms, the Roman Catholic Church rallied to Mother Teresa’s defense, especially following the controversial “Hell’s Angel” documentary.
• Path to Sainthood: Mother Teresa’s connection to the Catholic Church culminated in her beatification by Pope John Paul II in 2003, a step towards official sainthood. The process involved rigorous investigation, including testimony from both supporters and critics (like Christopher Hitchens), and the church required a posthumous miracle for beatification. The Vatican explicitly supported her approach of helping individuals and bearing witness to the Divine presence, rather than fighting for social change.

In essence, the Catholic Church provided the spiritual framework, hierarchical support (despite initial hesitations), and guiding doctrines that enabled Mother Teresa’s mission to the poorest of the poor to take root and expand globally. Her work, while sometimes challenging established norms or attracting criticism, remained deeply intertwined with her identity as a Catholic nun and the mission of the Church.

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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