Mother Teresa (full name Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu) was born in 1910 in Üsküb in the Ottoman Empire. Today the city Üsküb is Skopje (Macedonia). Her father was a building contractor and also involved in politics. Her father died when she was about 8 years old. The death of her father led to her family having financial problems.

At the age of 18 she decided to leave her home to join the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland. She went there to become a missionary. In Ireland she learned English and subsequently was sent to India, in 1929. It was there where she also took her first religious vows as a nun. This happened in 1931. She worked in Calcutta for two Decades, first as a teacher and later as a principal. While working as a teacher, she became increasingly worried about the widespread poverty in Calcutta. In 1946 she experienced what she referred to as "the call within the call". She experienced a very deep need to help the poor. Starting from 1948 she started to help the poor and needy. Her effort quickly caught the attention of Indian officials and even the prime minister. The prime minister appreciated Mother Teresa's efforts.

Several milestones include the establishment of the missionaries of charity in 1950. It began quite small with 13 members, but nowadays has more than 4000 nuns. In 1952 the "Home for the Dying" was opened. It was a hospice for poor people.

Mother Teresa was also involved in international charity. In 1982 she managed to rescue 37 children from a war zone in the Middle East. She was able to do this because she managed to arrange a temporary cease fire between the Israeli Army and Palestinian Militants. In 1996 she was operating more than 517 missions in more than 100 countries.

Mother Teresa received a lot of criticism as well as some of the highest honours achievable. Amongst the highest honours was the Nobel Peace Prize (1979). She also received the highest honours of the United States of America (the Presidential Medal of Freedom), the United Kingdom (Order of Merit), Australia (honorary Companion of the Order of Australia), India and other countries.

There has also been a lot of criticism, for example for the bad living conditions and the poor quality of care in the House of the Dying. The German magazine "Stern" has made accusations in regard to the spending of donations.