Mother Teresa born - August 26, 1910

Mother Teresa, whose charitable work has been called into question, was born on this day in 1910. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class. It's a production of I
Heart Radio. Hello. Hello, everyone, Welcome to this Day in
History Class, where we bring you a new tidbit from
history every day. Today is August. The day was August

(00:25):
n St. Teresa of Calcutta, commonly known as Mother Teresa,
was born in what is now Skapia, Northern Macedonia. Born
Anya's Ganja Boyaju, Mother Teresa was part of a middle
class Albanian family. Her brother believed that their mother's service
to poor people in the community helped influence Mother Teresa

(00:48):
to become a nun. When she was eighteen years old,
she joined the Sisters of Laredo, a community of Irish
nuns who had a mission in Calcutta, India, in nineteen
thirty one, after spending time in Ireland, then joining the
Laredo Convent in Darjeeling, India, she took her first vows

(01:09):
and took the name Teresa in honor of the French
sat terrace of le Zoo. She would also take her
final vows at the Laredo Convent in Darjeeling in nineteen
thirty seven. Teresa was assigned to teach at St. Mary's
High School for Girls in Calcutta. Though the school was
close to a poor area, the students were mainly wealthy.

(01:32):
But by nineteen six Mother Teresa received what she considered
a second calling. She wanted to work with the poor.
The Vatican gave her permission to leave the Sisters of
Laredo and start work under the guidance of the Archbishop
of Calcutta. After she was granted permission to live as
an independent nun, she began wearing a white starry with

(01:53):
a blue boarder and a cross pinned on her left
shoulder as her habit. She began training with the American
Medical Missionary Sisters in Putna, India. By the end of
nineteen forty eight, she was back in Calcutta, teaching impoverished
children literacy and hygiene. In nineteen fifty her group, the

(02:15):
Missionaries of Charity, was granted official status as a religious
community within the Archdiocese of Calcutta. Members took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience,
and giving free service to the most impoverished people. Teresa
was soon granted Indian citizenship In nineteen fifty two. The

(02:36):
Missionaries of Charity began caring for dying people and opened
the Collie got home for the dying. In the mid
nineteen fifties, Mother Teresa also began working with people with
leprosy and established a rehabilitation center for them. The Missionaries
of Charity also went on to run several elementary schools

(02:58):
in Calcutta and open into home for orphans and abandoned children.
In nineteen sixty Pope Paul the Six gave the Missionaries
of Charity the rank of a Society of Pontifical Right,
so it was under direct control of the papacy. The
congregation was also granted permission to expand beyond India. By

(03:20):
the late nineteen seventies, there were more than two hundred
centers in more than twenty five countries around the world.
In nineteen sixty nine, the Missionaries of Charity became affiliated
with the International Association of Co Workers, a group that
also aimed to serve the poorest people. As the Missionaries

(03:40):
of Charity expanded globally into places where population growth was extensive,
the sisters maintained their negative views of abortion and contraception.
They started up new operations for the elderly, people with aids,
and disabled people. Mother Teresa's work and character was recognized widely,

(04:02):
and she received the Nobel Peace Prize in nineteen seventy nine. Eventually,
Mother Teresa began struggling with health issues and was hospitalized
a couple of times. At that point, Sister Normala was
named as the leader of the Missionaries of Charity. Mother
Teresa died of a heart attack in September of n

(04:25):
She was canonized as a saint in ten but her
legacy is not without controversy. There were claims that she
and her followers baptized the dying without their knowledge. Many
people testified that the medical care the Missionaries of Charity
administered was negligible and many personnel were not medically trained

(04:45):
and the conditions were unhygienic. Mother Teresa, on the other hand,
went to expensive facilities when she needed medical treatment. People
also claimed that Mother Teresa's work was more about proselytizing
and poor community these than relieving suffering. There were also
concerns over the way she managed the money she received

(05:07):
and her views on abortion, contraception, and divorce. I'm Eves
Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know a little more about
history today than you did yesterday. And if you're so
inclined You can follow us at t D i h
C Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We'll see you tomorrow.

(05:41):
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