On October 19, 2003, Pope John Paul II declared Mother Teresa “Blessed.”

The Vatican hosted the solemn beatification ceremony in May 2011 at St. Peter’s Basilica. Around 500,000 people attended, including many Albanians.

Known worldwide as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa devoted her life to the “poorest of the poor.” She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1951. Her humility and dedication earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, while also highlighting her Albanian heritage.

By the mid-1980s, she cared for 7,500 children in 60 schools, treated 960,000 patients in 213 dispensaries, assisted 47,000 leprosy victims in 54 clinics, supported 3,400 abandoned elderly, and adopted 160 orphaned children.

After many requests, she agreed to visit Albania in 1989. On August 16, she arrived in her native country for the first time.

Pope Francis canonized her on September 4, 2016, naming her Saint Teresa of Calcutta in a grand Vatican ceremony.

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