Bharat Ratna, Nobel Peace Prize, Order of the Smile, Golden Honour of the Nation (1994), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985), Padma Shri (1962), Congressional Gold Medal (1997), Order of Merit (1983), Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding (1969), Patronal Medal (1979), Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding (1962), Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity Among Peoples (1962), Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975).
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian: 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997, honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
Mother Teresa’s unforgettable devotion to help the world’s poorest, most generally impoverished and weak individuals left a lasting dent in the world. Her remarkable leadership was even powerful enough to cut across conflicts and enemy lines — a quality clearly exemplified during the 1982 Siege of Beirut.
In 1979, Mother Teresa was granted the Nobel Peace Prize and turned into an image of magnanimous, caring work. In 2016, Mother Teresa was consecrated by the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Teresa. Fundamental to the prosperity of all, Teresa chose a voluntary life of poverty in order to help others. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation which to this day dedicates itself to helping those suffering from HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis as well as running soup kitchen, orphanages, schools and mobile clinics.
Teresa was first recognised by the Indian government more than a third of a century earlier, receiving the Padma Shri in 1962 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1969. She later received other Indian awards, including the Bharat Ratna (India's highest civilian award) in 1980. Teresa's official biography, by Navin Chawla, was published in 1992. In Kolkata, she is worshipped as a deity by some Hindus.
