Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 27, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. She felt strongly the call of God since she was a teenager. At the age of eighteen she joined the Sisters of Loreto. She was then sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, “The Missionaries of Charity”, whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.

Mother Teresa’s work has been recognised throughout the world and she has received a number of awards, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Nobel Peace Prize (1979).