India GOMother Teresa of Kolkata: her life, the criticism and the Mother House
Sancta Teresia de Calcutta
An Albanian nun who left the convent for the slums of Kolkata and founded the Missionaries of Charity; canonised in 2016.
Mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje in 1910, was a Catholic nun who spent almost seventy years in India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata in 1950. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, died in 1997 and was canonised as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016. Her tomb is in the Mother House on AJC Bose Road, still the working headquarters of her order.
Story
On a train to Darjeeling in 1946 she heard what she later called a call within the call: to leave the Loreto convent where she taught and go to the poorest. She bought the sari of a street sweeper, learned basic nursing and opened a home for the dying in a former pilgrims' hostel at Kalighat; the sisters in blue-bordered white spread to every continent. She is buried at Mother House on AJC Bose Road, where mass is said at six each morning and volunteers sign up a few doors down, at Shishu Bhavan.
“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do.”
Nobel lecture, 1979
Places linked to them
Mother House · Kolkata👣 Her life in dates
- 1910
Born on 26 August in Skopje, then in the Ottoman Empire, to an Albanian family.
- 1928–1929
Joins the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland at eighteen and arrives in India in 1929; for years she teaches at the order’s school in Kolkata.
- 1946–1948
On 10 September 1946, on a train to Darjeeling, she hears what she calls “the call within the call”. In 1948 she leaves the convent for the slums.
- 1950–1955
The Missionaries of Charity are founded on 7 October 1950 with 13 members. Nirmal Hriday, the home for the dying at Kalighat, opens in 1952; Shishu Bhavan, the children’s home, in 1955.
- 1979–1980
Nobel Peace Prize in 1979; the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 1980.
- 1997
Dies on 5 September in Kolkata and is given a state funeral. By then the order has over 4,000 sisters in 123 countries.
- 2003–2016
Beatified on 19 October 2003, canonised on 4 September 2016. Her feast day is 5 September.
Saint and controversy
In 1999 Mother Teresa headed Gallup’s list of the most widely admired people of the 20th century, and she is also one of the most argued over, and Kolkata itself holds a range of views on her. Critics, among them the writer Christopher Hitchens and the physician Aroup Chatterjee, questioned the standard of medical care in her homes, including too little pain relief and diagnosis, set against the large donations the order received. The Church, for its part, declared her a saint.
Visiting Mother House
Mother House, at 54A AJC Bose Road, is a plain grey building with a small sign. Her tomb is a white marble slab in a quiet ground-floor hall, usually with flowers laid out to spell a word or a line. Upstairs, her small room is kept as she left it, and a little museum holds her sari, her sandals and letters. Sisters in white saris with blue borders move through the corridors: this is a working convent first.
- Hours: usually 8:00–12:00 and 15:00–18:00, closed on Thursdays.
- Mass: every day at 6:00, and also at 16:30 on Fridays.
- Entry: free. The sisters warn that they do not raise money through other websites, cold calls or third-party trusts, so ignore anyone who asks for payment on their behalf.
- Dress and photos: dress modestly; photography is restricted in parts of the house, so follow the signs.
- Volunteering: open to people of any faith over 16. Get in touch through the official website or a Missionaries of Charity house; the order does not provide lodging.
❓ FAQ
What was Mother Teresa’s real name?
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She took the name Teresa as a Loreto nun.
How old would Mother Teresa be now?
She was born on 26 August 1910, so in 2026 she would have turned 116. She died in 1997 at 87.
Who died first, Diana or Mother Teresa?
Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997. Mother Teresa died six days later, on 5 September.
Where is Mother Teresa buried?
At Mother House, 54A AJC Bose Road, Kolkata. Entry is free; the house is closed on Thursdays.
Why is Mother Teresa criticised?
Critics such as Christopher Hitchens and Aroup Chatterjee questioned the medical care in her homes, especially the lack of pain relief and diagnosis, given the donations the order received.
Can I volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity?
Yes, if you are over 16, whatever your faith. Contact them through the official website or a local house; no lodging is provided.