Mother Teresa fact file

2010-08-26 07:30

Kolkata – Fact file on Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa, known as "the Saint of the Gutters" for her work among the poor, dying and destitute in India and across the world.

Name: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa

Born: August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia

1928: Decides to become a missionary at the age of 18

1929: Arrives in India. Begins her novitiate in Darjeeling, near the Himalayan mountains.

1931: Takes her first vows as a nun and chooses the name of Teresa.

1946: Hears the "call within the call" to work for the poor

1948: Begins missionary work with the poor in Kolkata

1950: Receives Vatican's permission to start her own order

1951: Granted Indian citizenship

1952: Opens her first home for the dying and destitute in Kalighat.

1962: Receives Indian and Philippine government awards for her work

1975: Celebrates 25 years of Missionaries of Charity

1979: Wins Nobel Prize for Peace for humanitarian work

1980: Given India's highest civilian honour, the "Jewel of India".

1983: Taken to hospital in Rome with serious heart condition

1990: Resigns as Superior General of Missionaries of Charity due to failing health but re-elected

March 13 1997: Successor Sister Nirmala elected Superior General

September 5 1997: Dies in Mother House at the age of 87

September 13 1997: Given a state funeral which is attended by then US first lady Hillary Clinton

2003: Beatified by Pope John Paul II, an interim stage before being named a saint

2007: Private letters published showing she suffered crises of faith for most of her life and even doubted God's existence.

- AFP