Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin

Teresa of Calcutta was born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman-influenced Balkans. She joined the Sisters of Loreto, went to India, and taught in Calcutta. In 1946, during a train ride to Darjeeling, she experienced what she called a “call within a call” to serve the poorest of the poor.

In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, whose work among the dying, abandoned, and destitute became known worldwide. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and died on September 5, 1997. Canonized by Pope Francis in 2016, she remains a modern witness that holiness often begins with seeing Christ in the person the world ignores.

Prayer: Saint Teresa of Calcutta, help us love the poor, serve the forgotten, and do small things with great love. Amen.