Mother Teresa Essay: The Life and Legacy of a Humanitarian

Mother Teresa is one of the greatest humanitarians the world has ever produced. Her entire life was devoted to serving the poor and needy people. Despite being a non-Indian she had spent almost her whole life helping the people of India. Mother Teresa received her name from the church after the name of St. Teresa. She was a Christian by birth and a spiritual lady. She was a nun by choice. She was undoubtedly a saintly lady with oodles of kindness and compassion in her.  

Mother Teresa is not just an inspiration for millions but also for the generations to come. Students must know about this kind soul who devoted her entire life to the well being of others. Therefore, Vedantu has provided the students with an essay on her which will help the students to learn about her life while also learning essential essay writing skills.

Early Life

She was a deeply pious lady and a Catholic Christian. Her real name was Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She was born in 1910 in Skopje, the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. She spent a major part of her early life in the church. But in the beginning, she did not think about becoming a nun. Mother Teresa came to Kolkata (Calcutta), India after finishing her work in Dublin. She got the new name of Teresa. Her motherly instincts fetched her beloved name Mother Teresa, by which the whole world knows her. When in Kolkata, she used to be a teacher at a school. It is here from where her life went through vigorous changes and eventually she was bestowed with the title “Saint of Our Times”. 

Work of Mother Teresa

She gave education to the poor kids of her area along with her teaching profession. She began her era of humanity by opening an open-air school where she gave education to poor children. Her journey started without any aid from anyone.

Some days later she started to teach the poor kids and help them regularly. For this purpose, she required a permanent place. The place would be regarded as her headquarters and a place of shelter for the poor and homeless people. 

Mother Teresa had built up Missionaries of Charity where poor and homeless people could spend their entire lives with the help of the church and people. Later on, numerous schools, homes, dispensaries and hospitals were established by her both in and outside of India with the help of the people and the then government.

Death of Mother Teresa

For the people of India and across the borders she was an angel of hope. But the ultimate fate of a human being spares no one. She breathed her last serving people in Kolkata (Calcutta). She made the entire nation cry in her memory. After her death, many poor, needy, homeless and weak people lost their ‘mother’ for the second time. Several memorials were made in her name both in and outside the country.

The death of Mother Teresa was the end of an era. In the starting days of her work, it was quite a difficult task for her to manage and give education to poor children. But she managed those tough missions delicately. She used to teach poor children with the help of a stick by writing on the ground. But after several years of struggle, she ultimately managed to organize proper equipment for teaching with the help of volunteers and a few teachers. In the later part of her life, she built up a dispensary for poor and needy people for treatment. She acquires great respect from the people of India because of her good deeds. Mother Teresa will be remembered by all the Indians. 

Did You Know These Facts About Mother Teresa?

1. Mother Teresa was born in North Macedonia city on 26 August 1910. Her parents were Nikolle and Dranafile Bojaxhiu.

2. She had two sisters and was the youngest of three girls to her parents. After Mother Teresa left to join the Sisters of Loreto, she never visited her mother or sisters again.

3. Mother Teresa used to say that she felt drawn to being a Roman Catholic Nun since the age of 12 years. Even as a child, she loved the stories of missionaries who traveled the world to spread Catholicism. 

4. Her real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. However, she chose the name Mother Teresa after she spent time in Ireland at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

5. Mother Teresa knew five languages including English, Hindi, Bengali, Albanian and Serbian. This is why she was able to communicate with many people from different parts of the world.

6. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian services to charity and the poor. However, she donated all the money to the poor of Kolkata and in charity.

7. Before starting with charitable work she was a Headmistress at the Loreto-Convent School in Kolkata where she worked as a teacher for almost 20 years and left the school as she became more concerned about the poverty surrounding the school.

8. Mother Teresa spent most of her time for the welfare of the poor and the unwell in India. Focusing on helping the people who lived in the slums of Kolkata. 

9. She focused a lot on helping children who were poor and unwell for which she also started street schools and orphanages to support them in Kolkata.

10. Mother Teresa started her organization in 1950 by the name of Missionaries of Charity.  The organizations still care for the poor and sick to this day. Also, there are many branches of the organization in different parts of the world.  

11. Mother Teresa spoke at the Vatican and at the UN which is an opportunity that only a few chosen influential people receive.

12. Mother Teresa had a state funeral in India, which is only given to a few important people by the government out of respect.

13.  She was made a Saint by Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church in 2015. Also known as canonization and she is now known as St Teresa of Calcutta in the Catholic Church. 

14. Many roads and buildings are named after her during her lifetime and even after her death. As Albania’s (Modern name for the country Mother Teresa was born in) international airport is named after her as Mother Teresa international airport.