One Voice Never Forgotten... |
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Since the age of nine years old, with many people following in her lead, Mother Teresa has impacted the ideals of humanity through her divine inspiration to devote herself to caring for the sick and the poor, especially through the Missionaries of Charity. This organization had expanded their scope from the streets of Calcutta to locations on every continent in the world. In the early phases, this organization was designed to offer the poor children of Calcutta a source of education, which included knowledge of reading, writing, and other basic skills. In 1965, Pope Paul VI bestowed the Decree of Praise upon the Missionaries of Charity, which prompted Mother Teresa to begin expanding internationally. At the time of her death, the Missionaries of Charity had 610 foundations in 123 countries on all seven continents. Through the Missionaries of Charity, she had improved the life of many all across the globe. In 1952, she had established Nirmal Hriday, meaning place for the pure of heart. Nirmal Hriday was a hospice where the terminally ill could die with dignity. In India, poor people who were dying were often left on the streets. In the first days of her mission, Mother Teresa found one such victim, a woman covered with open sores and attacked by rats and ants. Mother Teresa had tried to find a hospital that would take the woman, but all refused. She stayed with the woman until she died. In addition to homes for the dying, Mother Teresa started schools for children, orphanages, and hospitals for lepers and the mentally ill. As the missions grew, she added special shelters for those infected with HIV, alcoholics, drug addicts, and the abused women and children. In her later years, she spoke out against divorce and abortion. She recounted, “And if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?” Mother Teresa is one voice that will never be forgotten.