Facts About The Hero in White Sari
By Peculiar Christopher
Who is this Hero in white Sari? Her name is Saint Teresa of Calcutta, popularly known as "Mother Theresa". You must have heard of the name "Mother Theresa" right from when you were still a kid, and we all know her to be one of those Roman Catholic Missionaries and a Nun. But there is more to Mother Theresa being just a Roman Catholic Missionary and a Nun.
Let's look into who Mother Theresa is and some of her impact before she died:
Mother Teresa's real name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Uskup, Ottoman Empire (now Skopje, North Macedonia), she was born on August 26, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent.
She devoted her life to her faith at the age of 12. And at the age of 18, she joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns who sent missionaries to India. She trained for several months in Ireland before going to India. She never saw her mother or siblings again.
When Mother Teresa first arrived in India for her missionary work, she had no income and little access to food. Experiencing hunger, she was forced to beg for food from people on the street. This experience gave her a more personal understanding of the suffering many of the poor people living on the streets of India were going through.
In 1931, after arriving in India to begin her novitiate, Teresa took her first religious vows. She had chosen to be named after Thérèse of Lisieux, a saint known as the patron of missionaries, but because another nun in her convent had already chosen that name, she opted for its Spanish equivalent, "Teresa".
Mother Teresa began wearing the iconic white sari with blue stripes after receiving what she described as a "call within a call" during a train journey in 1946.The white symbolizes purity, while the blue stripes represent the Virgin Mary and the vows of the order. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in India in 1950, and for over 45 years, she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned and dying.
In recognition of her efforts, Mother Teresa was awarded more than 120 awards and honors both during her lifetime and after she passed away. Some of these include the Padma Shri in 1962, the Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize in 1962, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1969, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979( a moment she used to highlight the plight of the poor rather than to celebrate herself), and the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1980. The quote, "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love," is attributed to Mother Teresa.
In conclusion, Mother Teresa showed the world that you don’t need to be rich, powerful, or famous to make a difference, you just need a kind heart and a willingness to serve others.
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