When she was 36, Sister Teresa felt "a call within a call" to devote herself to "the poorest of the poor". She became an Indian citizen, learned basic medical skills, and began tending the poor and unwanted in the slums. Soon she was joined by other nuns and started to wear a simple white sari with a blue border.

She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, with the Pope's blessing, and opened the first Home for the Dying in Calcutta, India, two years later, becoming its Mother Superior. Mother Teresa said she wanted to help "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, shunned by everyone."

Mother Teresa went on to work with more sick and unwanted people, including those with HIV/Aids, and became famous for her work. In 1979, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the highest honours in the world. She said, "I am unworthy."

Travelling to help people in former Communist countries and on to help others in other countries, during the 1982 Siege of Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children with learning difficulties from a hospital, by negotiating a cease fire. She evacuated the trapped patients by travelling through the war zone.

Mother Teresa with rescued children in Beirut

In the 1980s, Mother Teresa suffered heart problems and in 1991 had a pacemaker fitted to regulate her heartbeat. Some people criticised Mother Teresa for having modern treatment, which those in her own hospitals did not have. Other criticisms and accusations included promoting a cult of suffering and being hard on the Sisters.

Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was buried in Kolkata. From its small beginnings with 13 Sisters, her Missionaries of Charity had grown to have over 4,500 Sisters, with 200 centres including hospitals and orphanages worldwide, and 1 million co-workers. The order continues to help millions of suffering people in India and around the world.

Mother Teresa was made a saint by Pope Francis in 2016.

"Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world.

Let us use love and compassion"

Mother Teresa

Pope Francis at Mother Teresa's canonisation ceremony, Rome, 2016