04/09/2026
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA, a woman whose life became a powerful witness to Christ’s love for the poorest and most forgotten. 🙏🤍
Born Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, North Macedonia, Saint Teresa grew up with a strong desire to serve God. At the age of 18, she entered the Loreto Sisters in Dublin and later traveled to India, where she took the name Teresa.
For many years, she taught at a girls’ school in Calcutta. Although she worked among students from comfortable families, she could not ignore the extreme poverty and suffering surrounding the city.
Then, in 1946, while traveling by train to Darjeeling, Sister Teresa experienced what she described as a “call within a call.” She believed Christ was asking her to leave the convent and serve Him directly among the poorest of the poor.
With permission from the Church, she left the Loreto Sisters and began a new mission. After receiving basic nursing training, she returned to Calcutta, moved into the slums, and opened a school for poor children.
Wearing a simple white sari with a blue border, she went from home to home, caring for the sick, comforting the dying, and reaching out to people who had been abandoned by society.
Her mission quickly grew.
Volunteers joined her, including some of her former students, while others provided food, clothing, medicine, buildings, and other necessities. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation dedicated to serving those most in need.
The ministry eventually expanded to care for orphans, abandoned children, the elderly, the sick, people struggling with addiction, and those living on the streets.
For decades, Mother Teresa traveled around the world, asking people to recognize the dignity of every human person and to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor.
Her dedication to the suffering earned worldwide recognition, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Yet despite her fame, she continued to describe her work simply as an act of love and service to Christ.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta died on September 5, 1997. Nearly two decades later, she was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.
On her feast day, may Saint Teresa remind us that holiness is not always found in extraordinary places. Sometimes, it is found in a small act of kindness, a hand extended to someone who is suffering, a meal given to the hungry, or simply taking the time to care for someone whom the world has forgotten.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
May we learn from Saint Teresa to recognize Christ not only in the Church and in prayer, but also in the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the forgotten.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, servant of the poorest of the poor, pray for us! 🙏🤍
📅 FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA ┃ September 5
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