Something beautiful for God: The life of Mother Teresa
(27th August 1910 - 5th September 1997)

How Agnes Bojaxhiu became Sister Teresa

When Agnes was 12 years old she believed that she heard God calling her to become a nun. She talked to her mother and the local priest about this important decision.

Becoming a nun is not easy; it involves giving up many things to devote your life to serving God. Catholic women take three solemn vows (promises) when they become nuns:

  • They believe Christ to be their husband, so they promise never to marry and have children.
  • They take a vow of poverty, which means they live very simply with few possessions.
  • The third vow is obedience, where they promise to obey the rules of their religious community without question.
Agnes as a novice

Agnes had to wait for six years until she was eighteen before she was old enough to join a religious order. During this time of waiting she learned about the Loreto nuns, sometimes known as the 'Irish Ladies.' They were an international order of nuns founded in the sixteenth century. They set up schools in India and many other countries.

In 1928, when she was only 18 Agnes travelled to Loreto Abbey in Ireland to learn English and begin her life as a Loreto nun.

Agnes as a novice
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It must have been very hard for Agnes leaving home and going to a strange country to learn a new language. Although she had been brought up in a close loving family she never saw her mother again.

After just two months in Ireland she was sent on to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling in India. She continued to study English and started to learn Bengali, one of the Indian languages. She also began to learn how to live as a nun.
When she was 21, Agnes took her first vows. When she took her vows, she gave up the life she could have lived as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She needed a new name for her new life, so she adopted the religious name Teresa. Thérèse of Lisieux in France, had been a nun who believed in the 'little way' - working for good by carrying out very simple tasks joyfully. The person who had been Agnes Bojaxhiu, was now Sister Teresa.
Sister Teresa when she had just taken her first vows
Sister Teresa when she had just taken her first vows, 24th May 1931
The Editors of RE:Quest have made their best endeavours to locate the copyright holder for this image but were unable to do so.

Activities:
  • Plot on a map, the journey Agnes had to take from her home in Albania, to Ireland and finally to India.
  • Calculate how far you think she travelled.
  • What transport do you think she would have used? This would not have been an easy journey in 1928.
  • Write four diary extracts as if you were Agnes. Remember to write about how you feel as well as what you do. Write your extracts about the following days:

    At the age of 12 when she first wanted to become a nun.
    The day she left home to travel to Ireland.
    The first day in India.
    The day she took her vows
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