Deciding to Become a Nun
Although Gonxha Bojaxhiu was very involved in church activities, it was not until she was 18 that she decided to become a nun. She believed to have been called by God to follow Him into service. In the book excerpt “Who Was Blessed Mother Teresa?” found in the book A Retreat With Mother Teresa and Damien of Molokai: Caring for Those Who Suffer by Joan Gutzelman, he wrote that “…Gonxha decided to follow the path that had seems to have been unconsciously unfolding through her life. In 1929, she was sent to Darjeeling to the novitiate of the Sisters of Loreto. She chose the Loreto Sisters of Dublin, missionaries and educators founded in the 17th Century to educate young girls”. Here, in 1931, Gonxha Bojaxhiu made her first religious vows and chose the name of Mother Teresa, in honor of both Saints Teresa of Avila, a major figure of the Catholic Reformation, and Therese of Lisieux, who was known as the Child of Jesus. She began her service at St. Mary’s, a high school for wealthy girls in Calcutta. Here she taught history and geography, which she “did with dedication and enjoyment for the next 15 years” (Gutzelman).