Mother Teresa birth anniversary: Rare photographs of her | The Indian Express

Mother Teresa birth anniversary: Rare photographs of her | The Indian Express

Mother Teresa birth anniversary: Rare photographs of her

Mother Teresa birth anniversary: Mother Teresa left home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto congregation in Ireland. She learned English as she wanted to be a missionary and the following year she left for India and started working in Darjeeling as a teacher.

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Published: August 26, 2018 11:37:59 am

Mother Teresa’s life was mired in controversies and it continued even after her death. (Source: File Photo)

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, also known as Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia in 1910. An Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic missionary, she worked relentlessly in Bengal for the most part of her life. She left her home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto congregation in Ireland.

She learned English as she wanted to be a missionary and the following year she left for India and started working in Darjeeling as a teacher. She took her religious vows in 1931 and started her work for the poor and the needy. She was particularly moved by the poverty in India and by the Bengal famine in 1943. She founded the Missionaries of charity in 1950 in order to eradicate poverty and help the needy.

Through her sustained efforts, it had become a worldwide organisation by 1997 and was even recognised globally. Her work and her selfless contribution to society led her to win the Nobel prize for peace in 1979. In September, 2016 she was cannonised.

However, her life as a missionary was not devoid of any controversies. In particular her opposition to abortion rights and the poor condition in which her patients were kept has been severely criticised.

On her birth anniversary, we bring to you some of her rare photos, those that documented her life the way it was.

Mother Teresa praying. (Source: Express Archive)Mother Teresa with Cheif Minister Manohar Joshi at Mantralaya in Mumbai. (Source: Express archive photo by Mohan Bane)Mother Teresa was known for relentlessly working for the poor. (Source: Express Archives)Manmohan Singh, who was then Finance Minister, with Mother Teresa at National Spastic society Awas function in 1993. (Express archive photo by Mukesh Parpiani)

Irrespective of the controversies, one cannot help but marvel at the life led by her.