Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje in 1910, she left her homeland as a young woman to serve as a religious sister in India, and in 1950 founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. For decades she and her sisters cared for the poorest of the poor — the sick, the abandoned, and the dying — seeing the face of Christ in each one. She died on September 5, 1997, and was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.
Mother Teresa taught that we are not called to do great things, but small things with great love, and she kept loving faithfully even through long interior darkness. Her example shows that tenderness toward one suffering person at a time is how God's love reaches the world.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who found Jesus in the smallest and most forgotten, teach us to love the ones in front of us with your quiet, faithful heart. Pray for us, and for all who grieve. Amen.