Missionaries of Charity wearing the blue-striped habit of the Order

Missionaries of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1950, which consists of over 4,500 nuns and is active in 133 countries. Members of the order designate their affiliation using the order's initials, "MC." Member nuns must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the fourth vow, to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor". The Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. In 1984, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers was founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta with Fr. Joseph Langford, to combine the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the ministerial priesthood. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 535 pixelsFull resolution (3412 × 2282 pixel, file size: 622 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Work by Rama File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 535 pixelsFull resolution (3412 × 2282 pixel, file size: 622 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Work by Rama File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      As a... A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ... Allegory of chastity by Hans Memling. ... Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu IPA: ) (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) was a Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. ...

Missionaries care for those who include refugees, ex-prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, abandoned children, lepers, AIDS victims, the aged, and convalescent. They have schools run by volunteers to educate street children, they run soup kitchens, as well as many other services as per the communities' needs. They have 19 homes in Kolkata alone which include homes for women, for orphaned children, and for the dying; an AIDS hospice, a school for street children, and a leper colony. These services are provided to people regardless of their religion. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... Child abandonment is the practice of abandoning offspring outside of legal adoption. ... Hansens disease, commonly known as leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by infection by Mycobacterium leprae. ... The Red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by infection with... A British pensioner, 2005 Ageing or aging is the process of getting older. ... Look up Convalescence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A soup kitchen is a place where food is offered to the poor for free or at a reasonably low price. ... , “Calcutta” redirects here. ...

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 selected the new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity. A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order of congregation. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Sister Nirmala (born 1934) succeeded Mother Teresa as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity in March 1997. ...

Foundation

Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying in Kolkata (Calcutta)

2005 Image of Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying in Kolkata

In October 1950, Mother Teresa received Vatican permission to start her own order, which the Vatican originally labeled as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, but which later became known as the Missionaries of Charity, whose 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 Kolkata, and today it has over 4,500 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, charity centres worldwide, and caring 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... , “Calcutta” redirects here. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1068 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 1068 KB) Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... , “Calcutta” redirects here. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu IPA: ) (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) was a Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. ... For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see the article Tzaraath. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple in the Kalighat area of Kolkata into Nirmal Hriday (Home for the Dying), a free hospice for the poor. Also established was a home for lepers called Shanti Nagar (City of Peace) in Titagarh, and an orphanage. The congregation soon began to attract both vocations and charitable donations, and by the 1960s had opened hospices, orphanages and leper houses all over India. Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slows its progress rather than providing a cure. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ...

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, and others followed in Rome and Tanzania, and eventually in many countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe, including Albania. In addition, the first home of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York. By 1996, she was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries and today is assisted by over one million co-workers worldwide. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see The Bronx (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ...

A 1998 article in the popular German Stern weekly quoted a witness account according to which the order received about US$50 million a year in donations on its New York account alone. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Stern (English Star) is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. ... This article is about the state. ...

Further reading

• Missionaries of Charity Fathers - ' Missionaries of Charity Priests Official Website'
• Frontline - Mother Teresa of Calcutta article
• Mother Teresa biography at the Nobel Prize foundation site has some information on the history and activities of the Missionaries of Charity.
• 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.
• Susan Shields, "Mother Teresa's House of Illusions". Free Inquiry Magazine, Volume 18, Number 1. Online copy.
• Vatican - Letter by Pope John Paul II on the 50th anniversary of the order, in the year 2000
• Eternal Word Television Network - History of the order and bio of Sister Nirmala