Chronological list of important dates and events in the life of Mother Teresa: August 26, 1910: Agnes Ganxhe Bojaxhiu is born in Skopje, Macedonia, to parents of Albanian origin. October 12, 1928: She is accepted as a postulant of the sisters of Loretto at their convent near Dublin, Ireland, and is given the name Teresa. January 6, 1929: She arrives in India to join the Loretto novitiate in Darjeeling. May 24, 1937: She makes her final profession as a Loretto sister. September 10, 1946: During a train journey in India, she experiences a call from God to serve the poorest of the poor, eventually leading her to found the Missionaries of Charity. October 7, 1950: The Missionaries of Charity is erected officially as a religious institute of the Archdiocese of Calcutta. 1952: Mother Teresa opens Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart) Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta. February 1, 1965: The Missionaries of Charity is recognized as a religious institute of pontifical right. December 10, 1979: Mother Teresa accepts the Nobel Peace Prize. June 5, 1997: Mother Teresa accepts the Congressional Gold Medal at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. September 5, 1997: Mother Teresa dies at the Missionaries of Charity motherhouse in Calcutta. October 23, 1997: Archbishop Henry D’Souza of Calcutta petitions the Vatican for a dispensation from the norm requiring a five-year waiting period before he may open the diocesan inquiry into the life and holiness of Mother Teresa. December 12, 1998: The Congregation for Saints’ Causes grants the dispensation with the permission of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican announces the decision the following March. July 26, 1999: The diocesan inquiry formally opens at St. Mary’s Church in Calcutta. August 15, 2001: The closing session of the diocesan inquiry is held. Over the course of two years, 80 volumes of 450 pages each are collected, including letters, speeches and documents written by Mother Teresa and transcripts of interviews with people who knew her. April 26, 2002: The formal “positio” or report on the results of the diocesan phase is completed and given to the congregation for study. December 20, 2002: In the presence of Pope John Paul, the Congregation for Saints’ Causes publishes the decrees recognizing Mother Teresa lived a life of “heroic virtues” and accepting the 1998 healing of an Indian woman as the miracle needed for her beautification. ~~~Catholic News Service~~~ [ Back to Terre's Place ] [ Mother Teresa ][ About Mother Teresa ][ Other Links ]