If you grew up in a Christian household, there’s a high chance you’ve seen images of her, or have your aunts or mothers post quotes, or even facts, by Mother Teresa on Facebook. If you were born with a different religion, you may have seen her image nonetheless, because of her overwhelming popularity when she was still here with us. They called her by the name, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She also goes along with titles such as Mama Teresa, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. But who was Mother Teresa? What did Mother Teresa do?
She founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity in India and then began a journey that would lead to international support. She also received many awards because of this. Moreover, you may easily pick up a Mother Teresa biography article on the internet with little effort. However, there are also some facts that can be easily misplaced with the miraculous life of Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Listed below are fifty Mother Teresa facts that will give you a glimpse of the amazing life she led.
- 01Mother Teresa joined the Sisters of Loreto in 1928.
- 02Before realizing her true calling, Mother Teresa taught Indian students for 17 years.
- 03She founded Nirmal Hriday in 1952.
- 04The Missionaries of Charity reached over 90 countries during her role as Superior General.
- 05Her order grew into 4,000 nuns, and more than a hundred thousand lay workers at the time of her death.
Mother Teresa was only 18 when she left her parents’ home.
When Mother Teresa was eighteen, she traveled to Ireland to become a member of the Sisters of Loreto. She stayed there for six weeks in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary before she went to India. She became a teacher in the Sisters of Loreto’s branch in India for seventeen years before realizing her true calling. Although she became a popular and world-renowned figure, Mother Teresa never saw her mother or sisters ever again after her departure to the Sisters of Loreto.
She was fluent in five languages.
A fun fact about Mother Teresa is that she was fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Albanian, English, and even Serbian. While learning one language is hard enough, a great benefit of her speaking multiple languages was being able to communicate with people from all across the globe.
Saint Teresa was actually born during the Ottoman Empire’s occupation of Macedonia.
Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, Macedonia. But during her time, it wasn’t called Macedonia, but the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans invaded Macedonia in 1371 and their occupation lasted up to 1912.
