TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Significant events in the life of Mother Teresa

With Sunday's canonization of Mother Teresa, Pope Francis honored the tiny nun who cared for the "poorest of the poor" as the epitome of his call for mercy.

News Desk (Associated Press)
Mon, September 5, 2016

Change text size

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Significant events in the life of Mother Teresa In this Aug. 25, 1993, file photo Mother Teresa, head of Missionaries of Charity, is photographed, in New Delhi, India. (AP/-)

W

ith Sunday's canonization of Mother Teresa, Pope Francis honored the tiny nun who cared for the "poorest of the poor" as the epitome of his call for mercy. Here are some significant dates in the life of the Catholic Church's newest saint:

1910: Agnes Gonxe Bojaxhiu is born on Aug. 26 in Skopje, in what is now Macedonia, the youngest of three children of an Albanian builder.

1928: Becomes a novitiate in Ireland of the Loreto order, which ran mission schools in India, and takes the name Sister Teresa.

1929: Arrives in Kolkata to teach at St. Mary's High School.

1937: Takes final vows and the name Mother Teresa.

1946: Riding a train Sept. 10 to the mountain town of Darjeeling, she receives a "call within a call" from Jesus "to serve him among the poorest of the poor."

1948: Permitted to leave her order and moves to Kolkata's slums to set up her first school.

1950: Missionaries of Charity officially founded on Oct. 7 as a religious congregation.

(Read also: Kolkata remembers Mother Teresa on the eve of sainthood)

1952: Opens Nirmal Hriday ("Pure Heart"), a home for the dying, followed next year by her first orphanage.

1962: Wins her first prize for her humanitarian work: the Padma Shri award for "distinguished service." Over the years she uses the money from such prizes to found dozens of new homes.

1979: Wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

1982: Persuades Israelis and Palestinians to stop shooting long enough to rescue 37 children from a hospital in besieged Beirut.

1983: Has a heart attack while in Rome visiting St. John Paul II.

1985: Awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.

1989: Has a second and nearly fatal attack. Doctors implant pacemaker.

1990: Announces her intention to resign and a conclave of sisters is called to choose a successor. In a secret ballot, Mother Teresa is re-elected with only one dissenting vote - her own - and withdraws request to step down.

1991: Suffers pneumonia in Tijuana, Mexico, leading to congestive heart failure, and is hospitalized in La Jolla, California.

1996: Nov. 16, receives honorary U.S. citizenship.

1997: Dies Sept. 5 in Kolkata and is given a state funeral.

2003: Beatified before a crowd of 300,000 by St. John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

2015: Is cleared for canonization after Pope Francis declares that the cure of a Brazilian man suffering from brain abscesses was miraculous.

2016: Is declared a saint on Sept. 4.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.

Share options

Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!

Change text size options

Customize your reading experience by adjusting the text size to small, medium, or large—find what’s most comfortable for you.

Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone

Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!