• History
  • faith

These Images Show the Power of Mother Teresa’s Work

1 minute read
Mother Teresa smiles with an infant in Calcutta, India, in 1981.
Mother Teresa smiles with an infant in Calcutta, India, in 1981.Francois Le Diascorn—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
By Mahita Gajanan and Andrew Katz

Mother Teresa will officially become a saint on Sunday, on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death. The Roman Catholic nun, widely known for her dedication to humanitarian causes with the Missionaries of Charity, spent her life caring for poor and sick people. Photos of Mother Teresa throughout the years show her clad in a blue-trimmed white sari, assisting the sick, orphans, the homeless and others. In 1955, when her charity took in large numbers of abandoned children, Mother Teresa opened the Children’s Home of the Immaculate Heart to safely house them. Her work garnered several awards and recognition, including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.

Here, see Mother Teresa at work throughout her life—and the work that has continued, thanks to her legacy, in the years since her death.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa prays during the dedication ceremonies at her 400th worldwide mission to care for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico. The Tijuana mission will shelter the homeless, the terminally ill and unwed mothers.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa prays in 1988, during the dedication ceremonies at her 400th worldwide mission to care for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico. The Tijuana mission will shelter the homeless, the terminally ill and unwed mothers.Bettmann Archive
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, the future Mother Teresa, at age 18 in Albania.
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, the future Mother Teresa, at age 18 in Albania.Vittoriano Rastelli—Corbis/Getty Images
Mother Teresa rides in an ambulance alongside a group of impoverished people in Calcutta, India, in October 1979.
Mother Teresa rides in an ambulance alongside a group of impoverished people in Calcutta, India, in October 1979.Jean-Claude Francolon—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Mother Teresa smiles with an infant in Calcutta, India, in 1981.
Mother Teresa smiles with an infant in Calcutta, India, in 1981.Francois Le Diascorn—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Pope Paul VI awards the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize to Mother Teresa for her work among the poor in Calcutta and her founding of an order dedicated working with the poor.
Pope Paul VI awards the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize to Mother Teresa in 1971, for her work among the poor in Calcutta and her founding of an order dedicated working with the poor.Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Mother Teresa in her congregation "Missionary of charity" in Calcutta, India, on Oct. 1, 1979.
Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, on Oct. 1, 1979.Jean-Claude Francolon—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II and Mother Teresa look at the Insignia of the Honorary Order of Merit, which she just presented to the Lady of Calcutta, at the Rashtrapati Shavar in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 24, 1983.
Queen Elizabeth II and Mother Teresa look at the Insignia of the Honorary Order of Merit, which she just presented to the Lady of Calcutta, at the Rashtrapati Shavar in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 24, 1983.AP
Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Prof. John Sanness, hands over the Nobel Peace Prize to Mother Teresa.
Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Prof. John Sanness, hands over the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize to Mother Teresa.Bettmann Archive
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Mother Teresa at the opening of the Mother Teresa Home for Infant Children in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 1995.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Mother Teresa at the opening of the Mother Teresa Home for Infant Children in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 1995.AFP/Getty Images
Mother Teresa takes a couple minutes to herself at a prayer hall before going about her daily rounds.
Mother Teresa takes a couple minutes to herself at a prayer hall before going about her daily rounds.Bettmann Archive
Mother Teresa addresses a group of children during mass at a church.
Mother Teresa addresses a group of children during mass at a church.Michel Setboun—Corbis/Getty Images
Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity decorate the tomb of Mother Teresa, who was buried after a state funeral, at Mother House in Calcutta, India, on Sept. 14, 1997.
Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity decorate the tomb of Mother Teresa, who was buried after a state funeral, at Mother House in Calcutta, India, on Sept. 14, 1997.Sherwin Crasto—AP
A group of Indian orphans along with a nun of the Missionaries of Charity offer prayers in front of a portrait of Mother Teresa during prayers to observe the seventh anniversary of her death in Calcutta, Sept. 5, 2004.
A group of Indian orphans along with a nun of the Missionaries of Charity offer prayers in front of a portrait of Mother Teresa during prayers to observe the seventh anniversary of her death in Calcutta, Sept. 5, 2004.Deshakalyan Chowdhury—AFP/Getty Images

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com