Mother Teresa

Missionaries of Charity founder · Nobel Peace Prize, 1979

Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, known worldwide for the idea that small things done with great love matter more than grand gestures.

Our own AI-illustrated tribute — an artist's interpretation of Mother Teresa's public ideas, made for children. How we make Little Keys ↗

August 26, 1910 · Skopje (present-day North Macedonia) September 5, 1997 · Kolkata, India

Read the story they inspired → 🎧 Listen

Who was Mother Teresa?

Mother Teresa (1910–1997), born in Skopje, joined the Sisters of Loreto and later founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India, dedicating her life to caring for the poorest and most overlooked people. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016. Her belief in doing small things with great love inspired a Little Keys story about gratitude.

📊 The 20-second version

1950

the year she founded the Missionaries of Charity

1979

the year she won the Nobel Peace Prize

138

countries where the Missionaries of Charity operates today

2016

the year she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church

📝 The story behind the little key

A calling within a calling

Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910, she joined the Sisters of Loreto as a young woman and taught school in Kolkata for nearly two decades. In 1946, she described a second calling — what she called "the call within the call" — to leave the convent and serve the poorest people in the city directly.

Founding the Missionaries of Charity

In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order devoted to caring for "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved." The order grew from a handful of sisters in Kolkata into a global organization.

Small things with great love

Mother Teresa became known worldwide for a simple teaching: that we can't all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016.

🔑 How this connects to their story

Mateo the squirrel, with help from Ruby the robin, learns to say thank you for small things instead of counting what he lacks. That's the same idea at the center of Mother Teresa's life's work — that a meaningful life is built from small things, done with great love, not from having more.

🐿️ The Squirrel Who Discovered Gratitude →

🕰️ Their life, in brief

1910

Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje.

1928

Joins the Sisters of Loreto.

1946

Experiences her "call within a call" to serve Kolkata's poorest directly.

1950

Founds the Missionaries of Charity.

1979

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1997

Dies in Kolkata, India.

2016

Canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Frequently asked questions

Where was Mother Teresa born?

She was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje (in today's North Macedonia). In 1928 she joined the Sisters of Loreto.

What made Mother Teresa a saint?

After a lifetime of service to the poorest people, she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 2016.

When did Mother Teresa die?

She died on September 5, 1997, in Kolkata, India.

What can kids learn from Mother Teresa?

That kindness doesn't need to be big to matter. Noticing what we already have, and sharing small acts of care, is something every child can practise.

Which Little Keys story did she inspire?

"The Squirrel Who Discovered Gratitude": Mateo the squirrel counts everything he doesn't have, until a cheerful robin who owns almost nothing shares her secret: start each day by naming three small gifts. The key: when you feel thankful, your heart feels full and happy.