She was beatified on October 19, 2003, by Pope John Paul II. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work.

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Mother Teresa of Calcutta, missionary: “The more repugnant the work, the greater must be our faith and the more cheerful our devotion”

Laura Martin Sanjuan Calum Roche

Update: Jun 10th, 2026 11:46 EDT

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Few figures embody humanitarian devotion and faith in action more than Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997). Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, present-day North Macedonia, her life was defined from an early age by a deep spiritual calling and a constant desire to help those most in need.

How Mother Teresa’s vocation began

Raised in a Catholic family where charity and compassion were central values, Teresa decided at just 18 years old to leave home and join the Sisters of Loreto, a religious congregation dedicated to education. That decision marked the first major turning point in her life, as she left Europe for India, driven by a missionary vocation.

India in the 1930s was marked by profound inequality, widespread poverty, disease, and social exclusion. Teresa was initially sent to Calcutta, where she worked as a teacher at a school. Her mission changed dramatically in 1946 during what she later described as “the call within the call” – a spiritual experience in which she felt God was asking her to leave the convent and devote herself entirely to “the poorest of the poor.”

She abandoned her teaching career, took to the streets, and began caring for the sick, the dying, and those who had been abandoned. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation dedicated to serving people whom society had largely forgotten.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, missionary: “The more repugnant the work, the greater must be our faith and the more cheerful our devotion” — In Manila, with a child struck by polio.Bettmann

The meaning behind her most famous message

Mother Teresa’s faith was distinct in that it did not focus on grand speeches or sweeping structural change. Instead, it centered on concrete acts of love carried out in the most difficult circumstances.

Her statement, “The more repugnant the work, the greater must be our faith and the more cheerful our devotion,” reflects a core belief: the harsher, more uncomfortable, or more unpleasant a task may be, the greater its spiritual value when performed with dignity and dedication.

For her, cleaning wounds, caring for the sick, or accompanying the dying was never degrading. It was the very essence of her mission.

Life among the poorest of the poor

In Calcutta, Mother Teresa became known for her work in hospices for the dying, centers for people with leprosy, orphanages, and direct outreach in impoverished neighborhoods. She lived with the bare minimum and expected the same commitment from her fellow sisters, embracing radical poverty, strict discipline, and joy in service even under extreme conditions.

The work was often physically and emotionally demanding. It involved dirt, disease, suffering, and death – tasks many people preferred to avoid. Yet those were precisely the places where she believed faith was most authentically lived.

Why her words still resonate today

Although rooted in a religious context, the message behind Mother Teresa’s words continues to resonate far beyond faith communities.

In almost every profession, the most difficult jobs are often the least recognized, even though they may be the most essential. Her philosophy encourages people not to avoid discomfort but to face it with responsibility and commitment. Simply doing what needs to be done.

When work becomes difficult, unpleasant, or demanding, that is often where a person’s true dedication is revealed. Decades after her death, Mother Teresa’s message continues to speak to anyone who values preparation, sacrifice, service, and vocation.