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Missionaries of Charity

January 01, 1970

The Missionaries of Charity (Latin: Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women[3] established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. As of 2023, it consisted of 5,750 members religious sisters. Members of the order designate their affiliation using the order's initials, "M.C.". A member of the congregation must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor."[4] Today, the order consists of both contemplative and active branches in several countries.

Missionaries of Charity
Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate
AbbreviationM.C.
FormationOctober 7, 1950; 73 years ago (October 7, 1950)
FounderMother Teresa
TypeReligious institute
Religious congregation
Headquarters54/a Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Kolkata, India
Membership
5,750 members as of 2023
Superior general
Sr. Mary Joseph Michael, MC[1]
Websitemissionariesofcharity.org
RemarksMotto: "Do all you do with love"[2]
Sisters belonging to Missionaries of Charity in their attire of traditional white sari with blue border.

Missionaries care for those who include refugees, former prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, abandoned children, lepers, people with AIDS, the aged, and convalescent. They have schools that are run by volunteers to teach abandoned street children and run soup kitchens as well as other services according to the community needs. These services are provided, without charge, to people regardless of their religion or social status.

History edit

 
Missionaries of Charity's Mother House (Headquarters) in Kolkata

On October 7, 1950,[5] Mother Teresa and the small community formed by her former pupils was labelled as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and thus received the permission from the Diocese of Calcutta to identify as a Catholic organization. Their mission was to care for (in Mother Teresa's words) "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small community with 12 members in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and in 2023 had 5,750 members serving in 139 countries in 760 homes, with 244 of these homes in India.[6] The sisters run orphanages, homes for those dying of AIDS, charity centres worldwide, and care for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and famine in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Europe and Australia. They have 19 homes in Kolkata (Calcutta) alone which include homes for women, orphaned children and homes for the dying; a school for street children, and a leper colony.

In 1963, Brother Andrew (formerly Ian Travers-Ballan) founded the Missionary Brothers of Charity in Australia along with Mother Teresa.[7]

In 1965, by granting a Decree of Praise, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa's request to expand her congregation to other countries. The Congregation started to grow rapidly, with new homes opening all over the globe. The congregation's first house outside India was in Venezuela, others followed in Rome and Tanzania and worldwide.

In 1979 the contemplative branch of the Brothers was added and in 1984 a priest branch, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers,[8] was founded by Mother Teresa with Fr. Joseph Langford, combining the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the Ministerial Priesthood. As with the Sisters, the Fathers live a very simple lifestyle without television, radios or items of convenience. They neither smoke nor drink alcohol and beg for their food. They make a visit to their families every five years but do not take annual holidays.[9] Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity.

The first home of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States was established in the South Bronx,[10] New York, where in 2019 they had convents for both their active and contemplative branches,[11] and had placed 108 sisters in their province that stretches from Quebec to Washington, DC.[12] Their first rural mission in the United States, in 1982, was in one of the poorest, former coal mining areas of Kentucky, where they still serve.[13][14] In the US, the Missionaries of Charity are affiliated with the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, a body of female religious, representing 20% of American religious sisters. They are identified by the wearing of religious habits, and loyalty to church teaching. By 1996, the organisation was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries.[15]

In 1990, Mother Teresa asked to resign as head of the Missionaries but was soon voted back in as Superior General. On March 13, 1997, six months before Mother Teresa's death, Sister Mary Nirmala Joshi was elected the new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity. In April 2009, Sister Mary Prema was elected to succeed Sister Nirmala, during a general chapter held in Kolkata.[16]

The quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Home for the Dying in Calcutta was the subject of discussion in the mid-1990s.[17] Some British observers, on the basis of short visits, drew unfavourable comparisons with the standard of care available in hospices in the United Kingdom. Remarks made by Dr. Robin Fox relative to the lack of full-time medically trained personnel and the absence of strong analgesics were published in a brief memoir in an issue of The Lancet in 1994. These remarks were criticised in a later issue of The Lancet on the ground that they failed to take account of Indian conditions, specifically the fact that government regulations effectively precluded the use of morphine outside large hospitals.[18]

In Phoenix, Arizona, the sisters' accommodation for 40 homeless men is funded by a clothier, featured in Vogue, who grew up within a few blocks of Mother Teresa's original home for the dying destitute in Kalighat, Calcutta.[19]

Princess Diana, who was very close to Mother Teresa, wrote that she found in her "the direction I've been searching for all these years".[20]

The Missionaries of Charity sisters were particularly hard hit by the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19, as in places they continued to distribute food and minister to the poor who had been affected.[21][22][23]

In April 2022, Sister Mary Joseph was elected to succeed Sister Mary Prema as superior general of the order, with Sister Mary Christie elected as assistant superior general.[1]

Violence against missionaries edit

In July 1998 in Al Hudaydah, Yemen, three Missionaries of Charity, two Indians and a Filipina, were shot and killed as they left a hospital.[24]

In March 2016 in Aden, Yemen, sixteen people were shot and killed in a home for the elderly operated by the Missionaries of Charity. Among the dead were four missionary sisters: Sisters Marguerite and Reginette from Rwanda, Sister Anselm from India and Sister Judit from Kenya. According to Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, their superior escaped harm by hiding. Bishop Hinder described the attack as "religiously-motivated". A Salesian Syro-Malabar priest who was living at the facility, Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil of Bangalore, India, was taken prisoner by the attackers.[25]

On Good Friday, March 25, 2016, several media outlets reported that Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil had been crucified by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. However, Bishop Hinder indicated he had strong indications that the priest was alive and still being held by his captors.[26] In early September 2017 Fr. Uzhunnalil was rescued after 18 months in captivity, and first sent to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis.[27]

Becoming a Missionary of Charity edit

It takes nine years to become a full-fledged Missionary of Charity. An initial short-term "come-and-see" period is available. Those considered possible candidates by the Congregation may enter Aspirancy, focused on learning English (which is the community language) for those who are not from English-speaking countries and religious studies. It is followed by Postulancy (introduction into the study of Scripture, the Constitutions of the Society, Church history, and theology). If found suitable, they enter the Novitiate, the beginning of the religious life. Novices wear white cotton habits with a girdle, and white saris without the three blue stripes. In the first year (called canonical), they undertake more religious study and learn about life as a Missionary of Charity, the second year is more focused on practical training for the mission life. After two years, they take temporary vows for one year, which are renewed annually, for five years in total. They also receive a metal crucifix and a sari whose three blue stripes stand for their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.[13] In the sixth year, they travel to Rome, Kolkata or Washington D.C. for "Tertianship", further religious study, at the end of which they make their final profession.

Material goods edit

A sister's few possessions include: three saris (one to wear, one to wash, one to mend),[28] two or three cotton habits, a girdle, a pair of sandals, a crucifix, and a rosary. They also have a plate, a set of cutlery, a cloth napkin, a canvas bag, and a prayer book. In cold countries, sisters may own a cardigan and other articles suited to the local climate such as a coat, scarf, and closed shoes.

Controversies edit

 
Mother Teresa's home for the dying destitute Nirmal Hriday at Kalighat, Kolkata.

A British former volunteer at the Home, Robin Fox (now editor of the British medical journal The Lancet) disclosed in 1994 that syringes were rinsed in cold water and reused; that inmates were given cold baths; and that aspirin was administered to people with terminal cancer.[29] Fox also noted, however, that the residents were "eating heartily and doing well", and that the sisters and volunteers focused on cleanliness, tending wounds and sores, and providing loving kindness.[30] The controversy remains due to the use of unsterilized needles and the failure to make proper diagnoses, as put by Dr. Jack Preger: "If one wants to give love, understanding and care, one uses sterile needles."[31]

In 2018, all child care homes in India run by the Missionaries of Charity were inspected by the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development following allegations that two staff members at a Jharkhand home sold babies for adoption. A sister (Konsaila Balsa) and a social worker (Anima Indwar) employed there were arrested. They were accused of having already sold three babies from the home, which provides shelter for pregnant, unmarried women, and of trying to sell a baby boy for roughly £1,325.[32] The Missionaries of Charity had discontinued its participation in adoption services in India three years earlier over religious objections to the country's new adoption rules.[33] In December 2021, India's Ministry of Home Affairs headed by former BJP national president Amit Shah refused to renew the registration under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of Missionaries of Charity along with 6000 other charity organizations, which is mandatory for charities, NGOs and any non-profit organizations receiving foreign funding in India registration over allegations of the organization aiding in conversion of Hindus to Catholicism (an allegation which has also been levelled against Teresa too).[34][35] However the decision was subsequently reverted in the first week of January 2022.[36]

Image gallery edit

  •  
    Missionarinnen der Nächstenliebe, Schwestern aus dem Orden Mutter Theresas, in Tirana (Albanien)
  •  
    Missionaries of Charity weaing the traditional Sari during a religious procession in the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on the occasion of the feast of Saint Perpetua.
  •  
    The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam meeting with the Sisters from the Mother Teresa Mission of Charity at Athens on April 27, 2007. These sisters are engaged in running number of old age home in Greece.
  •  
    Chinese Vice President Chen Chien-jen and Mrs. Chen are greeted by Sr. Mary Prema Pierick, superior general of the Missionaries of Charity. (2016/09/05)
  •  
    The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil distributed sweets and blankets to the old and needy persons of the Nirmal Hriday Home for the Destitutes in Delhi on December 19, 2007.
  •  
    The First lady of USA, Ms. Laura Bush interacting with a child on her visit to Mother Teresa Light of Life Home (Jeevan Jyothi) for disabled children, in New Delhi on March 2, 2006.
  •  
    The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh meeting the nuns from missionaries of charity at a reception for Indian community hosted by the Indian High Commissioner, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on May 26, 2011. Smt. Gursharan Kaur, the Union Minister for External Affairs, Shri S.M. Krishna and the Indian High Commissioner, Shri K.V. Bhagirath is also seen.
  •  
    The President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, meeting the representatives of Missionaries for Charities from India, at Damascus, in Syria on November 28, 2010.
  •  
    The First lady of USA, Ms. Laura Bush interacting with the disabled children on her visit to Mother Teresa Light of Life Home (Jeevan Jyothi) for disabled children, in New Delhi on March 2, 2006.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Rosario, Francis Sunil (12 April 2022). "Q & A with Sister Mary Joseph, new superior general of the Missionaries of Charity".
  2. ^ Choi, Kamiel (27 March 2010). "Missionaries of Charity".
  3. ^ "Missionaries of Charity (M.C.)".
  4. ^ Muggeridge (1971) chapter 3, Mother Teresa Speaks, pp. 105, 113.
  5. ^ "Mother Teresa of Calcutta". vatican.va. Vatican.
  6. ^ "Mother Teresa nuns face probe over funding allegations – UCA News". ucanews.com. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Australian Founder of Missionary Brothers of Charity Dies". Cathnews.acu.edu.au. Catholic Online. 13 October 2000. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Mother Teresa – Biography". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  10. ^ Agency, Catholic News. "At least 15 dead from coronavirus in NY religious orders". Catholic Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Cardinal Prays at Burial of Two Missionaries of Charity". Catholic New York. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  12. ^ Armando Machado (11 September 2019). "Missionaries of Charity Praised for Faithfully Following St. Teresa's Example". Catholic New York. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Mother Teresa's nuns return to her rural Kentucky mission". cruxnow.com. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  14. ^ Kenning, Chris. "37 years after Mother Teresa came to Appalachia, her nuns return to help the poor". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  15. ^ . www.motherteresa.org. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  16. ^ . Zenit News Agency. 25 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  17. ^ Goldberg, Michelle (21 May 2021). "Opinion | Was Mother Teresa a Cult Leader?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  18. ^ Robin Fox (1994). "Mother Theresa's care for the dying". The Lancet. 344 (8925): 807–808. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92353-1. PMID 7818649. S2CID 54305918.; cf. "Mother Teresa's care for the dying," letters from David Jeffrey, Joseph O'Neill and Gilly Burns, The Lancet 344 (8929): 1098
  19. ^ Blufish (14 May 2020). "Pax Philomena – local clothing brand with ties to Mother Teresa – spreads joy". AZ Big Media. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  20. ^ Harris, Katie (11 May 2020). "Princess Diana reveals 'something very profound touched my life' in unseen letter". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  21. ^ AsiaNews.it. "Sister of Mother Teresa dies from coronavirus giving food to the infected". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Officials say ministries of priests and religious during COVID-19 crisis highlight importance of World Day of Prayer for Vocations". Catholic Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  23. ^ Caldwell, Zelda (6 April 2020). "Nun from Mother Teresa's order dies of coronavirus in UK". Aleteia – Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Southern Arabia bishop: MC nuns killed for religious motives". Vatican Radio. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016. In July 1998, a gunman shot and killed three Missionaries of Charity, as they left a hospital in the city of Al Hudaydah. Two of them were Indians while the third was a Filipina.
  25. ^ "Southern Arabia bishop: MC nuns killed for religious motives". en.radiovaticana.va. Vatican Radio. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016. According to Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia that has jurisdiction over Yemen, the massacre of 16 people by gunmen at the old people's home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden is 'religiously-motivated'. ...The nun victims are Sisters Marguerite and Reginette from Rwanda, Anselm from India and Judit from Kenya. The superior survived by finding a hiding place, Bishop Hinder said, adding now she is in a safe place. ...The attackers also seized Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, an Indian Salesian missionary from Bangalore Province, who lived at the facility.
  26. ^ Rezac, Mary (28 March 2016). . Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016. Bishop Paul Hinder of Southern Arabia (a region in Saudi Arabia, the country just north of Yemen where Fr. Uzhunnalil was kidnapped), told CNA on Monday that he has 'strong indications that Fr. Tom is still alive in the hands of the kidnappers but could not give further information in order to protect the life of the priest.
  27. ^ "Fr. Tom to Pope Francis: I offered my suffering for you and the Church". Catholic News Agency.
  28. ^ Thomas, Prince Matthews. "Pointing Fingers At Mother Teresa's Heirs". Forbes. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  29. ^ Fox, Robin (1994). "Mother Teresa's care for the dying". The Lancet. 344 (8925): 807–808. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(94)92353-1. PMID 7818649. S2CID 54305918.
  30. ^ Loudon, Mary (6 January 1996). "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, Book Review", BMJ vol. 312, no. 7022, 6 January 1996, pp.64–5. Retrieved December 30, 2011. Loudon claimed in her review that Fox had seen those practices; but he made no reference to them in his article.
  31. ^ Krishnan, Madhuvanti S. (17 March 2017). "Healing touch". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  32. ^ Safi, Michael (17 July 2018). "All Mother Teresa homes inspected amid baby-selling scandal". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  33. ^ McCarthy, Julie (9 October 2015). "Mother Teresa's Missionaries Of Charity Says No More Adoptions In India". NPR.org. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  34. ^ Singh, Vijaita; Singh, Shiv Sahay (27 December 2021). "Missionaries of Charity denied FCRA nod". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Oxfam India says it's 'severely' hit by ban on foreign funds". BBC News. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Missionaries of Charity gets back FCRA nod". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.

Further reading edit

  • González-Balado, José Luis; Teresa (1997). Mother Teresa: in my own words. New York: Gramercy Book. ISBN 0-517-20169-0.
  • Brian Kolodiejchuk; Mother Teresa (2007). Mother Teresa: come be my light: the private writings of the "Saint of Calcutta". Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-52037-9.
  • Muggeridge, Malcolm. Something Beautiful for God. London: Collins, 1971. ISBN 0-06-066043-0.
  • Christopher Hitchens: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (Verso, 1995) ISBN 1-85984-054-X. Plus a debate in the New York Review of Books: Defense of Mother Teresa, Hitchens' answer, Leys' reply.
  • Mary Johnson (2011). An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life. ISBN 978-0385527477.
  • Erika Lantz (3 February 2023). "The Turning: The Sisters Who Left" (Podcast). iHeartRadioPodcasts and Rococo Punch. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  • Jones, B. (2017). T. In Dictionary of World Biography (NED-New edition, 4, pp. 821–852). ANU Press. JSTOR j.ctt1rfsrst.24
  • Stevens, Laura M. “‘The Reservoir of National Charity’: The Role of the Missionary Society.” In The Poor Indians: British Missionaries, Native Americans, and Colonial Sensibility, 84–110. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. JSTOR j.ctt3fhmjw.6.
  • Kellogg SE. A visit with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®. 1994; 11(5):5–11. doi:10.1177/104990919401100504
  • Bose, R.; Faust, L. (2011). Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership. Bk Business. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. ISBN 9781605099538.
  • Burton, J. (1978). Book Review: We do it for Jesus: Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity. Theology, 81(683), 377–379. doi:10.1177/0040571X7808100518
  • Kusserow, Adrie. "Crossing Borders, and: Hunting Down the Monk, and: Orphanage, Missionaries of Charity, Kathmandu, Nepal, and: Bulimia Religiosa, and: Confession." The Missouri Review, vol. 22 no. 1, 1999, p. 135–145. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/mis.1999.0045.
  • Taneja V, Sriram S, Beri RS, Sreenivas V, Aggarwal R, Kaur R. Not by bread alone': impact of a structured 90-minute play session on development of children in an orphanage. Child Care Health Dev. 2002 Jan; 28(1):95–100. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2214.2002.00246.x. PMID 11856192.
  • Yu, YTE; Ho, SY; Chen, JY (2015). "Reaching out to the poorest of the poor – a 4-week outreach programme at the Missionaries of Charity : a pilot outreach service programme to enable professionalism development in medical students". Frontiers in Medical & Health Sciences Education Conference. hdl:10722/233620.
  • Johnson, M. (2011). An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of an Authentic Life. ReadHowYouWant.com, Limited. ISBN 9781459620117.
  • Poplin, M. (2011). Finding Calcutta: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service. Veritas Books. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830868483. LCCN 2008022649.
  • Ciulla, Joanne B., Dirty Money: Some Ethical Questions About Donating to Charity (July 24, 2020). Rutgers Business Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2020, pp. 159–165., Available at SSRN 3660181
  • Collopy, M. (2016). Works of Love Are Works of Peace: Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Missionaries of Charity. Ignatius Press. ISBN 9781621641292.
  • Le Joly, Edward (1977). "Servant of Love : Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity". (No Title). Harper & Row.
  • Mijatović, J.K. (2022). 'Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in the Life and Work of Archbishop Franjo Kuharić: On the 25th Anniversary of the Death of St. Teresa of Calcutta and the 20th Anniversary of the Death of the Servant of God Franjo Kuharić', Obnovljeni Život, 77(4), str. 507–520. doi:10.31337/oz.77.4.6
  • Taneja V, Beri RS, Puliyel JM. Play in orphanages. Indian J Pediatr. 2004 Apr; 71(4):297–299. doi:10.1007/BF02724092. PMID 15107508.
  • Kellogg SE. A visit with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 1994 Sep–Oct; 11(5):5–11. doi:10.1177/104990919401100504. PMID 7880648.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Mother Teresa Center
  • Missionaries of Charity at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Missionaries of Charity Brothers (active branch)
  • Mother Teresa biography at the Nobel Prize foundation site has some information on the history and activities of the Missionaries of Charity.
  • Eternal Word Television Network – History of the order and bio of Sister Nirmala
  • Letter by Pope John Paul II on the 50th anniversary of the order in 2000
  • Teresa's volunteers 16 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine – Photo document on volunteers working at Nirmal Hriday in Calcutta, by photographer Wim Klerkx, 1998
  • "Volunteering for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity", New York Times – one volunteer's experience]
  • Missionaries of Charity Fathers Website

January 01, 1970
missionaries, charity, latin, congregatio, missionariarum, caritate, catholic, centralised, religious, institute, consecrated, life, pontifical, right, women, established, 1950, mother, teresa, known, catholic, church, saint, teresa, calcutta, 2023, update, co. The Missionaries of Charity Latin Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women 3 established in 1950 by Mother Teresa now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta As of 2023 update it consisted of 5 750 members religious sisters Members of the order designate their affiliation using the order s initials M C A member of the congregation must adhere to the vows of chastity poverty obedience and the fourth vow to give wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor 4 Today the order consists of both contemplative and active branches in several countries Missionaries of CharityCongregatio Missionariarum a CaritateAbbreviationM C FormationOctober 7 1950 73 years ago October 7 1950 FounderMother TeresaTypeReligious instituteReligious congregationHeadquarters54 a Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road Kolkata IndiaMembership5 750 members as of 2023Superior generalSr Mary Joseph Michael MC 1 Websitemissionariesofcharity wbr orgRemarksMotto Do all you do with love 2 Sisters belonging to Missionaries of Charity in their attire of traditional white sari with blue border Missionaries care for those who include refugees former prostitutes the mentally ill sick children abandoned children lepers people with AIDS the aged and convalescent They have schools that are run by volunteers to teach abandoned street children and run soup kitchens as well as other services according to the community needs These services are provided without charge to people regardless of their religion or social status Contents 1 History 1 1 Violence against missionaries 2 Becoming a Missionary of Charity 2 1 Material goods 3 Controversies 4 Image gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksHistory edit nbsp Missionaries of Charity s Mother House Headquarters in Kolkata On October 7 1950 5 Mother Teresa and the small community formed by her former pupils was labelled as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese and thus received the permission from the Diocese of Calcutta to identify as a Catholic organization Their mission was to care for in Mother Teresa s words the hungry the naked the homeless the crippled the blind the lepers all those people who feel unwanted unloved uncared for throughout society people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone It began as a small community with 12 members in Calcutta now Kolkata and in 2023 had 5 750 members serving in 139 countries in 760 homes with 244 of these homes in India 6 The sisters run orphanages homes for those dying of AIDS charity centres worldwide and care for refugees the blind disabled aged alcoholics the poor and homeless and victims of floods epidemics and famine in Asia Africa Latin America North America Europe and Australia They have 19 homes in Kolkata Calcutta alone which include homes for women orphaned children and homes for the dying a school for street children and a leper colony In 1963 Brother Andrew formerly Ian Travers Ballan founded the Missionary Brothers of Charity in Australia along with Mother Teresa 7 In 1965 by granting a Decree of Praise Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa s request to expand her congregation to other countries The Congregation started to grow rapidly with new homes opening all over the globe The congregation s first house outside India was in Venezuela others followed in Rome and Tanzania and worldwide In 1979 the contemplative branch of the Brothers was added and in 1984 a priest branch the Missionaries of Charity Fathers 8 was founded by Mother Teresa with Fr Joseph Langford combining the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the Ministerial Priesthood As with the Sisters the Fathers live a very simple lifestyle without television radios or items of convenience They neither smoke nor drink alcohol and beg for their food They make a visit to their families every five years but do not take annual holidays 9 Lay Catholics and non Catholics constitute the Co Workers of Mother Teresa the Sick and Suffering Co Workers and the Lay Missionaries of Charity The first home of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States was established in the South Bronx 10 New York where in 2019 they had convents for both their active and contemplative branches 11 and had placed 108 sisters in their province that stretches from Quebec to Washington DC 12 Their first rural mission in the United States in 1982 was in one of the poorest former coal mining areas of Kentucky where they still serve 13 14 In the US the Missionaries of Charity are affiliated with the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious a body of female religious representing 20 of American religious sisters They are identified by the wearing of religious habits and loyalty to church teaching By 1996 the organisation was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries 15 In 1990 Mother Teresa asked to resign as head of the Missionaries but was soon voted back in as Superior General On March 13 1997 six months before Mother Teresa s death Sister Mary Nirmala Joshi was elected the new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity In April 2009 Sister Mary Prema was elected to succeed Sister Nirmala during a general chapter held in Kolkata 16 The quality of care offered to terminally ill patients in the Home for the Dying in Calcutta was the subject of discussion in the mid 1990s 17 Some British observers on the basis of short visits drew unfavourable comparisons with the standard of care available in hospices in the United Kingdom Remarks made by Dr Robin Fox relative to the lack of full time medically trained personnel and the absence of strong analgesics were published in a brief memoir in an issue of The Lancet in 1994 These remarks were criticised in a later issue of The Lancet on the ground that they failed to take account of Indian conditions specifically the fact that government regulations effectively precluded the use of morphine outside large hospitals 18 In Phoenix Arizona the sisters accommodation for 40 homeless men is funded by a clothier featured in Vogue who grew up within a few blocks of Mother Teresa s original home for the dying destitute in Kalighat Calcutta 19 Princess Diana who was very close to Mother Teresa wrote that she found in her the direction I ve been searching for all these years 20 The Missionaries of Charity sisters were particularly hard hit by the 2020 outbreak of COVID 19 as in places they continued to distribute food and minister to the poor who had been affected 21 22 23 In April 2022 Sister Mary Joseph was elected to succeed Sister Mary Prema as superior general of the order with Sister Mary Christie elected as assistant superior general 1 Violence against missionaries edit In July 1998 in Al Hudaydah Yemen three Missionaries of Charity two Indians and a Filipina were shot and killed as they left a hospital 24 In March 2016 in Aden Yemen sixteen people were shot and killed in a home for the elderly operated by the Missionaries of Charity Among the dead were four missionary sisters Sisters Marguerite and Reginette from Rwanda Sister Anselm from India and Sister Judit from Kenya According to Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia their superior escaped harm by hiding Bishop Hinder described the attack as religiously motivated A Salesian Syro Malabar priest who was living at the facility Fr Tom Uzhunnalil of Bangalore India was taken prisoner by the attackers 25 On Good Friday March 25 2016 several media outlets reported that Fr Tom Uzhunnalil had been crucified by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant However Bishop Hinder indicated he had strong indications that the priest was alive and still being held by his captors 26 In early September 2017 Fr Uzhunnalil was rescued after 18 months in captivity and first sent to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis 27 Becoming a Missionary of Charity editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message It takes nine years to become a full fledged Missionary of Charity An initial short term come and see period is available Those considered possible candidates by the Congregation may enter Aspirancy focused on learning English which is the community language for those who are not from English speaking countries and religious studies It is followed by Postulancy introduction into the study of Scripture the Constitutions of the Society Church history and theology If found suitable they enter the Novitiate the beginning of the religious life Novices wear white cotton habits with a girdle and white saris without the three blue stripes In the first year called canonical they undertake more religious study and learn about life as a Missionary of Charity the second year is more focused on practical training for the mission life After two years they take temporary vows for one year which are renewed annually for five years in total They also receive a metal crucifix and a sari whose three blue stripes stand for their vows of poverty chastity and obedience 13 In the sixth year they travel to Rome Kolkata or Washington D C for Tertianship further religious study at the end of which they make their final profession Material goods edit A sister s few possessions include three saris one to wear one to wash one to mend 28 two or three cotton habits a girdle a pair of sandals a crucifix and a rosary They also have a plate a set of cutlery a cloth napkin a canvas bag and a prayer book In cold countries sisters may own a cardigan and other articles suited to the local climate such as a coat scarf and closed shoes Controversies editThis section may lend undue weight to certain ideas incidents or controversies Please help to create a more balanced presentation Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message February 2024 This article s criticism or controversy section may compromise the article s neutrality Please help rewrite or integrate negative information to other sections through discussion on the talk page February 2024 nbsp Mother Teresa s home for the dying destitute Nirmal Hriday at Kalighat Kolkata A British former volunteer at the Home Robin Fox now editor of the British medical journal The Lancet disclosed in 1994 that syringes were rinsed in cold water and reused that inmates were given cold baths and that aspirin was administered to people with terminal cancer 29 Fox also noted however that the residents were eating heartily and doing well and that the sisters and volunteers focused on cleanliness tending wounds and sores and providing loving kindness 30 The controversy remains due to the use of unsterilized needles and the failure to make proper diagnoses as put by Dr Jack Preger If one wants to give love understanding and care one uses sterile needles 31 In 2018 all child care homes in India run by the Missionaries of Charity were inspected by the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development following allegations that two staff members at a Jharkhand home sold babies for adoption A sister Konsaila Balsa and a social worker Anima Indwar employed there were arrested They were accused of having already sold three babies from the home which provides shelter for pregnant unmarried women and of trying to sell a baby boy for roughly 1 325 32 The Missionaries of Charity had discontinued its participation in adoption services in India three years earlier over religious objections to the country s new adoption rules 33 In December 2021 India s Ministry of Home Affairs headed by former BJP national president Amit Shah refused to renew the registration under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of Missionaries of Charity along with 6000 other charity organizations which is mandatory for charities NGOs and any non profit organizations receiving foreign funding in India registration over allegations of the organization aiding in conversion of Hindus to Catholicism an allegation which has also been levelled against Teresa too 34 35 However the decision was subsequently reverted in the first week of January 2022 36 Image gallery edit nbsp Missionarinnen der Nachstenliebe Schwestern aus dem Orden Mutter Theresas in Tirana Albanien nbsp Missionaries of Charity weaing the traditional Sari during a religious procession in the streets of Port au Prince Haiti on the occasion of the feast of Saint Perpetua nbsp The President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam meeting with the Sisters from the Mother Teresa Mission of Charity at Athens on April 27 2007 These sisters are engaged in running number of old age home in Greece nbsp Chinese Vice President Chen Chien jen and Mrs Chen are greeted by Sr Mary Prema Pierick superior general of the Missionaries of Charity 2016 09 05 nbsp The President Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil distributed sweets and blankets to the old and needy persons of the Nirmal Hriday Home for the Destitutes in Delhi on December 19 2007 nbsp The First lady of USA Ms Laura Bush interacting with a child on her visit to Mother Teresa Light of Life Home Jeevan Jyothi for disabled children in New Delhi on March 2 2006 nbsp The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh meeting the nuns from missionaries of charity at a reception for Indian community hosted by the Indian High Commissioner in Dar es Salaam Tanzania on May 26 2011 Smt Gursharan Kaur the Union Minister for External Affairs Shri S M Krishna and the Indian High Commissioner Shri K V Bhagirath is also seen nbsp The President of India Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil meeting the representatives of Missionaries for Charities from India at Damascus in Syria on November 28 2010 nbsp The First lady of USA Ms Laura Bush interacting with the disabled children on her visit to Mother Teresa Light of Life Home Jeevan Jyothi for disabled children in New Delhi on March 2 2006 See also editPublic image of Mother Teresa Catholic missionsReferences edit a b Rosario Francis Sunil 12 April 2022 Q amp A with Sister Mary Joseph new superior general of the Missionaries of Charity Choi Kamiel 27 March 2010 Missionaries of Charity Missionaries of Charity M C Muggeridge 1971 chapter 3 Mother Teresa Speaks pp 105 113 Mother Teresa of Calcutta vatican va Vatican Mother Teresa nuns face probe over funding allegations UCA News ucanews com Retrieved 15 May 2020 Australian Founder of Missionary Brothers of Charity Dies Cathnews acu edu au Catholic Online 13 October 2000 Retrieved 22 December 2011 Mother Teresa Biography Nobelprize org Nobel Media AB Retrieved 9 June 2011 Missionaries of Charity Fathers website Who we are Archived from the original on 1 October 2011 Retrieved 7 December 2011 Agency Catholic News At least 15 dead from coronavirus in NY religious orders Catholic Telegraph Retrieved 15 May 2020 Cardinal Prays at Burial of Two Missionaries of Charity Catholic New York 6 May 2020 Retrieved 15 May 2020 Armando Machado 11 September 2019 Missionaries of Charity Praised for Faithfully Following St Teresa s Example Catholic New York Retrieved 15 May 2020 a b Mother Teresa s nuns return to her rural Kentucky mission cruxnow com 25 December 2019 Retrieved 15 May 2020 Kenning Chris 37 years after Mother Teresa came to Appalachia her nuns return to help the poor The Courier Journal Retrieved 15 May 2020 Missionaries of Charity www motherteresa org Archived from the original on 6 April 2020 Retrieved 15 May 2020 German Elected to Lead Missionaries of Charity Zenit News Agency 25 March 2009 Archived from the original on 16 May 2015 Retrieved 26 March 2009 Goldberg Michelle 21 May 2021 Opinion Was Mother Teresa a Cult Leader The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 21 May 2021 Robin Fox 1994 Mother Theresa s care for the dying The Lancet 344 8925 807 808 doi 10 1016 s0140 6736 94 92353 1 PMID 7818649 S2CID 54305918 cf Mother Teresa s care for the dying letters from David Jeffrey Joseph O Neill and Gilly Burns The Lancet 344 8929 1098 Blufish 14 May 2020 Pax Philomena local clothing brand with ties to Mother Teresa spreads joy AZ Big Media Retrieved 15 May 2020 Harris Katie 11 May 2020 Princess Diana reveals something very profound touched my life in unseen letter Express co uk Retrieved 15 May 2020 AsiaNews it Sister of Mother Teresa dies from coronavirus giving food to the infected www asianews it Retrieved 15 May 2020 Officials say ministries of priests and religious during COVID 19 crisis highlight importance of World Day of Prayer for Vocations Catholic Standard Retrieved 15 May 2020 Caldwell Zelda 6 April 2020 Nun from Mother Teresa s order dies of coronavirus in UK Aleteia Catholic Spirituality Lifestyle World News and Culture Retrieved 15 May 2020 Southern Arabia bishop MC nuns killed for religious motives Vatican Radio 5 March 2016 Retrieved 29 March 2016 In July 1998 a gunman shot and killed three Missionaries of Charity as they left a hospital in the city of Al Hudaydah Two of them were Indians while the third was a Filipina Southern Arabia bishop MC nuns killed for religious motives en radiovaticana va Vatican Radio 5 March 2016 Retrieved 29 March 2016 According to Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia that has jurisdiction over Yemen the massacre of 16 people by gunmen at the old people s home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden is religiously motivated The nun victims are Sisters Marguerite and Reginette from Rwanda Anselm from India and Judit from Kenya The superior survived by finding a hiding place Bishop Hinder said adding now she is in a safe place The attackers also seized Fr Tom Uzhunnalil an Indian Salesian missionary from Bangalore Province who lived at the facility Rezac Mary 28 March 2016 There is no confirmation that Fr Tom Uzhunnalil was crucified on Good Friday Catholic News Agency Archived from the original on 29 March 2016 Retrieved 29 March 2016 Bishop Paul Hinder of Southern Arabia a region in Saudi Arabia the country just north of Yemen where Fr Uzhunnalil was kidnapped told CNA on Monday that he has strong indications that Fr Tom is still alive in the hands of the kidnappersbut could not give further information in order to protect the life of the priest Fr Tom to Pope Francis I offered my suffering for you and the Church Catholic News Agency Thomas Prince Matthews Pointing Fingers At Mother Teresa s Heirs Forbes Retrieved 22 November 2018 Fox Robin 1994 Mother Teresa s care for the dying The Lancet 344 8925 807 808 doi 10 1016 S0140 6736 94 92353 1 PMID 7818649 S2CID 54305918 Loudon Mary 6 January 1996 The Missionary Position Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice Book Review BMJ vol 312 no 7022 6 January 1996 pp 64 5 Retrieved December 30 2011 Loudon claimed in her review that Fox had seen those practices but he made no reference to them in his article Krishnan Madhuvanti S 17 March 2017 Healing touch The Hindu Retrieved 9 June 2019 Safi Michael 17 July 2018 All Mother Teresa homes inspected amid baby selling scandal The Guardian Retrieved 22 November 2018 McCarthy Julie 9 October 2015 Mother Teresa s Missionaries Of Charity Says No More Adoptions In India NPR org Retrieved 15 May 2020 Singh Vijaita Singh Shiv Sahay 27 December 2021 Missionaries of Charity denied FCRA nod The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 28 December 2021 Oxfam India says it s severely hit by ban on foreign funds BBC News 3 January 2022 Retrieved 4 January 2022 Missionaries of Charity gets back FCRA nod www telegraphindia com Retrieved 9 January 2022 Further reading editGonzalez Balado Jose Luis Teresa 1997 Mother Teresa in my own words New York Gramercy Book ISBN 0 517 20169 0 Brian Kolodiejchuk Mother Teresa 2007 Mother Teresa come be my light the private writings of the Saint of Calcutta Garden City NY Doubleday ISBN 978 0 385 52037 9 Muggeridge Malcolm Something Beautiful for God London Collins 1971 ISBN 0 06 066043 0 Christopher Hitchens The Missionary Position Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice Verso 1995 ISBN 1 85984 054 X Plus a debate in the New York Review of Books Defense of Mother Teresa Hitchens answer Leys reply Mary Johnson 2011 An Unquenchable Thirst Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love Service and an Authentic Life ISBN 978 0385527477 Erika Lantz 3 February 2023 The Turning The Sisters Who Left Podcast iHeartRadioPodcasts and Rococo Punch Retrieved 3 February 2023 Jones B 2017 T In Dictionary of World Biography NED New edition 4 pp 821 852 ANU Press JSTOR j ctt1rfsrst 24 Stevens Laura M The Reservoir of National Charity The Role of the Missionary Society In The Poor Indians British Missionaries Native Americans and Colonial Sensibility 84 110 University of Pennsylvania Press 2004 JSTOR j ctt3fhmjw 6 Kellogg SE A visit with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine 1994 11 5 5 11 doi 10 1177 104990919401100504 Bose R Faust L 2011 Mother Teresa CEO Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership Bk Business Berrett Koehler Publishers ISBN 9781605099538 Burton J 1978 Book Review We do it for Jesus Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity Theology 81 683 377 379 doi 10 1177 0040571X7808100518 Kusserow Adrie Crossing Borders and Hunting Down the Monk and Orphanage Missionaries of Charity Kathmandu Nepal and Bulimia Religiosa and Confession The Missouri Review vol 22 no 1 1999 p 135 145 Project MUSE doi 10 1353 mis 1999 0045 Taneja V Sriram S Beri RS Sreenivas V Aggarwal R Kaur R Not by bread alone impact of a structured 90 minute play session on development of children in an orphanage Child Care Health Dev 2002 Jan 28 1 95 100 doi 10 1046 j 1365 2214 2002 00246 x PMID 11856192 Yu YTE Ho SY Chen JY 2015 Reaching out to the poorest of the poor a 4 week outreach programme at the Missionaries of Charity a pilot outreach service programme to enable professionalism development in medical students Frontiers in Medical amp Health Sciences Education Conference hdl 10722 233620 Johnson M 2011 An Unquenchable Thirst Following Mother Teresa in Search of an Authentic Life ReadHowYouWant com Limited ISBN 9781459620117 Poplin M 2011 Finding Calcutta What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Meaningful Work and Service Veritas Books InterVarsity Press ISBN 9780830868483 LCCN 2008022649 Ciulla Joanne B Dirty Money Some Ethical Questions About Donating to Charity July 24 2020 Rutgers Business Review Vol 5 No 2 2020 pp 159 165 Available at SSRN 3660181 Collopy M 2016 Works of Love Are Works of Peace Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the Missionaries of Charity Ignatius Press ISBN 9781621641292 Le Joly Edward 1977 Servant of Love Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity No Title Harper amp Row Mijatovic J K 2022 Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in the Life and Work of Archbishop Franjo Kuharic On the 25th Anniversary of the Death of St Teresa of Calcutta and the 20th Anniversary of the Death of the Servant of God Franjo Kuharic Obnovljeni Zivot 77 4 str 507 520 doi 10 31337 oz 77 4 6 Taneja V Beri RS Puliyel JM Play in orphanages Indian J Pediatr 2004 Apr 71 4 297 299 doi 10 1007 BF02724092 PMID 15107508 Kellogg SE A visit with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta Am J Hosp Palliat Care 1994 Sep Oct 11 5 5 11 doi 10 1177 104990919401100504 PMID 7880648 External links editOfficial website Mother Teresa Center Missionaries of Charity at the Encyclopaedia Britannica Missionaries of Charity Brothers active branch Mother Teresa biography at the Nobel Prize foundation site has some information on the history and activities of the Missionaries of Charity Time Magazine 100 Most Important People of the Century Eternal Word Television Network History of the order and bio of Sister Nirmala Letter by Pope John Paul II on the 50th anniversary of the order in 2000 Teresa s volunteers Archived 16 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Photo document on volunteers working at Nirmal Hriday in Calcutta by photographer Wim Klerkx 1998 Volunteering for Mother Teresa s Missionaries of Charity New York Times one volunteer s experience Missionaries of Charity Fathers Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Missionaries of Charity amp oldid 1219370194, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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