Mother Teresa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, died on September 5, 1997, in her convent in India. She was 87. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, she joined the Sisters of Loreto in 1928. She took the name "Teresa" after St. Teresa of Lisieux, patroness of the Missionaries.

In 1948, she came across a half-dead woman lying in front of a Calcutta hospital. She stayed with the woman until she died. From that point on, she dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name "Saint of the Gutters." She founded an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India dedicated to serving the poor. Almost 50 years later, the Missionaries of Charity have grown from 12 sisters in India to over 3,000 in 517 missions throughout 100 countries worldwide.

In 1952, she founded the Nirmal Hriday Home for the Dying in a former temple in Calcutta. It was there that they would care for the dying Indians that were found on the streets. Mother would see Jesus in everyone that she met. It didn´t matter whether they were dying of AIDS or Leprosy. She wanted them to be able to die in peace and with dignity. For over 50 years, she worked selflessly helping the poor. That devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

In the last two decades of her life, Mother had suffered from heart problems. She suffered a heart attack during a 1983 visit with Pope John Paul II. She suffered another, and more serious, heart attack in 1989. It was then that a pacemaker was installed. She also had suffered from malaria and was treated for a chest infection. Particularly recently it has come to light that she also suffered from great spiritual aridity or dryness. She lived for decades in great and heroic faith and trust in God from whom she was receiving no consolations. She is a wonderful example not only of heroic charity in dealing with the physical and spiritual needs of people, but also a pattern of spiritual greatness in the midst of many sufferings both of body and soul.

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