Tag: Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa’s Life and Legacy

I share my visit to Peoria, Illinois, and a statue of Mother Teresa at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. The summary highlights her life as a devoted nun, her charitable work, and her modest demeanor, culminating with her canonization as a saint in 2016.

updated April 23, 2026

A few years ago I went to Peoria, Illinois, for training for a new job. I had never been there before so one afternoon I did some exploring.

I came across this magnificent church

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception

an ornate church

Who was Mother Teresa?

Catholic nun and missionary Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of the Republic of Macedonia. She was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her father died suddenly and under mysterious circumstances when she was only 8 years old.  Her mother taught her to care about all people, especially the destitute, although they were far from well-off themselves.

She felt a call to religious life as a young girl, and after becoming a nun, Sister Teresa first worked as a teacher. Later, she felt a second call, this time to work among the poor and sick in Calcutta, India. Now known as Mother Teresa, it took a year to get permission to leave the convent for the slums of Calcutta.

statue of the nun Mother Teresa
I stopped to get a better look and while exploring the grounds found this statue of Mother Teresa.

With some of her former students, she founded the Missionaries of Charity. Their projects included founding a leper colony, an orphanage, a nursing home, a family clinic, and mobile health clinics. She also opened Gift of Love, a home to care for persons with HIV/AIDS.

For her work, Mother Teresa was awarded many honors and awards, including the  1979 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work “in bringing help to suffering humanity.”

Despite her acclaim, Mother Teresa remained modest and humble. After her death, some of her private writings became public, revealing she often doubted her faith and felt lost and alone. Although people criticized her for this, others see it as a reflection of true faith in God, remaining devout even when she didn’t feel certain, something many of us can understand.

She died in September 1997 and was beatified in October 2003. In December 2015, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for her to be canonized as a saint in 2016. (source biography.com)

MOTHER TERESA-COME BE MY LIGHT a book cover
MOTHER TERESA, Come Be My Light THE PRIVATE WRITINGS of the SAINT OF
CALCUTTA

Why a statue of Mother Teresa in Peoria?

I was curious why this church in Illinois had a statue of Mother Teresa. I learned Mother Teresa visited Peoria twice because nuns from the Missionaries of Charity worked there at St. Mary’s. On one occasion, she spoke to a group of women saying,

 “I am a poor woman that prays.”

Mother Teresa

A local artist, Lonnie Stewart, travelled to India to sketch Mother Teresa, then completed the 6-foot-tall statue of her, unveiling it at the church in 1998.

God has not called us to be successful, but to be helpful.”

Mother Teresa

Watch Mother Teresa on Amazon

The inspirational portrayal of Mother Teresa, a simple nun who became one of the most significant personalities of the 20th Century.

Armed with a faith that could move mountains, Mother Teresa followed her calling to help the poor, the lepers, the dying, and the abandoned children in the slums of Calcutta, challenging many authorities – including the church – along the way.

(There are affiliate links in this post for you and for this blog to earn a commission from sales at no extra cost to you. )

Mother Teresa”Anyway” Quotes Wall Art- “Do It Anyway”-

8x 10″ Vintage Art Wall Print-Ready to Frame. Distressed Inspirational Home, Studio & Office Décor. Perfect Life Quotes for Peace & Good Will.

Exploring the HEART of Health

Thanks for sharing this visit with Mother Teresa with me. If you go to Peoria IL, be sure you visit the Cathedral

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Dr. Aletha
the words FAITH, LOVE, HOPE with a heart on a red background
graphic from LIGHTSTOCK, an affiliate

Love is – 1 Corinthians 13 ESV

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, English Standard Version

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

 

statue of Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa statue

 

Learn more about Mother Teresa at this related link–  

 

The English Standard Version Bible translation 

“The English Standard Version (ESV) stands in the classic mainstream of English Bible translations over the past half-millennium. The ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. It seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original. ” from BibleStudyTools

 

 

sharing the HEART of faith, hope, and love

 

 

 

Dr. Aletha