3. Early Days
She was born on 27th
August 1910.Her
real name was
Agnes Gionxhu
Bejuxhiu and she
was the youngest
child of Nikola, a
politician, and
Drane Bejuxhiu in
Skopje in
Yugoslavia.
4. The Decision of nuns
Age 12 - decided on a religious life.
Age 18 – joined the Sisters of Loretto a roman
catholic order .
Age 21 – takes first religious vows and chooses
the name therse du lisieux after the saint of
missionaries .
6. Working with the poor
On September10th 1964 she got
the calling to work with the
poor. She began missionary
work with the poor of Calcutta.
She replaced the loretto habit
with a simple white cotton
chira with a blue border.
In 1948 she took Indian
citizenship and opened her
first school in Motjhil to serve
the homeless and starving. It
was difficult at first as there
was no money and she had to
beg for food and other
supplies. She did some
medical training in Paris.
7. Missionaries of Charity
October 7th 1950 – Vatican permission to set up
Missionaries of Charity, to care for the hungry, the
naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind and
lepers.
She started with 13 nuns now there are over 4,000
8. Homes for the poor
1952 – opens Nirmal
Hriday [pure heart] for
the dying.
1955 – opens Nirmala
Shishua Bhavan
[ immaculate heart] for
lost children or
children's home.
1957 – opens Shanti
Nagar [city of peace]
a home for lepers.
Her order became well
known for this work!
9. Where she helped
1982 – siege of Beirut 1985 - Ethopia
1986 - Chernobyl
1988 - Armenia
10. Failing health
1983 – 1st heart attack whilst visiting Pope John
Paul II.
1989 – 2nd heart attack, fitted with a pace maker.
1992 – goes into hospital in USA for pneumonia
and heart problems.
1993 – In May she broke 3 ribs, In August she
suffers from malaria and in September she had
surgery for a blocked blood vessel.
1996 – In April she fell and broke her collar bone
and in August she suffered malarial fever and
more heart problems.
11. The final days
March 13th 1997 – she
stepped down as head
nun and is replaced by
Sister Nirnala.
September 5th 1997 –
She died of a massive
heart attack in
Calcutta at the age of
87.
She died the day I was
born
Her funeral was on the
13th of September
1997. She was given a
state funeral
12. Awards that she got
1962 - Padma shri award
1971 - Pope John XXIII peace prize
1975 - Albert Schweiter international prize
1976 - Pacem in Terris award
1978 - Balzon prize
1979 - Noble Peace Prize
1983 - Order of Merit
1985 - Medal of Freedom
1994 - Golden Honour of the Nation [Albania]
1996 - Honorary citizenship of USA
1998 - Pope John Paul II begins the process to make her a
saint.
This process is still going on !
