Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 5 September 1997), born Agnesė Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was an Albanian
Catholic nun with Indian citizenship who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India in
1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the
Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Following her death
she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
By the 1970s she was internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due
in part to a documentary and book Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her
humanitarian work. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her
death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with
HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counselling programs, orphanages,
and schools.
She has been praised by many individuals, governments and organizations; however, she has also faced a
diverse range of criticism. These include objections by various individuals and groups, including Cristopher
Hitchens, Michael Parenti, Aroup Chatterjee, Vishva Hindu Parishad, against the proselytizing focus of her
work including a strong stance against contraception and abortion, a belief in the spiritual goodness of
poverty and alleged baptisms of the dying. Medical journals also criticised the standard of medical care in
her hospices and concerns were raised about the opaque nature in which donated money was spent.
