Monday, December 31, 2012

Usain Bolt




Biography of Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt is a world-famous Jamaican athlete. He has set the world records for the fastest time over distances of 100 m and 200 m, en route to 6 Olympic and 5 World Championship gold medals. Here's a look into this Jamaican sprinter's life and achievements.

Bolt is in his home stretch. It's gonna be close ... Bolt, Blake, Gatlin and Gay battling it out, and BOLT! It's official, Usain Bolt is the fastest man on Earth! Take your hats off everybody, for the 2012 London Olympic 100-meter champion, Usain Bolt!

All of us must have heard some variation of this piece of commentary as the legendary Jamaican ran through to his 4th Olympic gold medal. Replace Gatlin and Gay with Weir and Spearmon, and it's exactly the same for the 200 m, his fifth Olympic gold. The contenders may change, but there's no stopping Usain Bolt. With his unprecedented 200 m victory, followed up by a world-record run in the 4x100 m relay by the Jamaican team, Bolt won his place among the very greatest exponents of athletics, if not the golden throne in that revered pantheon. In the week of Jamaica's 50th Independence Day, Usain Bolt gave his country one of the best gifts, fittingly won in England, Jamaica's rulers pre-August 6, 1962. It was a run of a champion, it was the run of a record-breaker, it was the run of a history-maker. Just another day in the office for Usain Bolt.

Personal Details

Name: Usain Bolt
Nicknames: Lightning Bolt, Bolt from the Blue
Nationality: Jamaican
Born: August 21, 1986
Place of Birth: Sherwood Content
Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 210 lbs
Sports: 100 m, 200 m, 4x100 m relay


Flying Jamaican:

At full speed, Usain Bolt's feet only touch the ground for 0.05 seconds per step. With a stride of 2.4 meters at full speed, Bolt needs about 41 steps to cross 100 m and 82 to cross 200. This means that his feet touch the ground for 2.05 and 4.10 seconds in the 100 m and the 200 m, respectively.

Professional Career
Usain Bolt became a professional athlete in 2004 under the guidance of his new coach Fitz Coleman. He started with the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda, where he was the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in less than 20 seconds and broke the world junior record, previously held by Roy Martin. Bolt lost the opportunity to compete in the 2004 World Junior Championships due to a hamstring injury. However, he was selected for the Jamaican Olympic Squad, but was eliminated in the first round of the 200 meters due to a leg injury.

In 2005, Bolt got a fresh start under the guidance of his new coach Glen Mills. He scored the season's best finish of 19.99 seconds for the 200 meters at the London's Crystal Palace in July, the same year. Bolt reached the top 5 on the world rankings in 2005 and 2006. He set his new personal best at the 2006 Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, setting the record time of 19.88 seconds. Bolt got his first major world medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, Germany. He won a bronze medal by finishing in a time of 20.10 seconds. He achieved his first senior international silver medal in the IAAF World Cup in Athens, Greece. In 2007, he finished the 200 m in 19.75 seconds at the Jamaican Championships and broke the record of Don Quarrie by 0.11 seconds. He won silver medals in the 200 m and 4x100 m relay at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. On May 31, 2008, Bolt established a new world record at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. He ran the 100 m event in 9.72 seconds and broke an earlier record of 9.74 seconds set by Powell.

After winning the 100 m, the 200 m and, along with his Jamaica teammates, the 4x100 m relay, all in world-record times, Usain Bolt scaled unprecedented heights in the 2009 Berlin World Championships, making a new 100 m world record of 9.58 seconds. He also broke his own 200 m record made in 2008 by 0.11 seconds, this time bringing it down to 19.19 s. Due to his remarkable performance, he was also honored as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2008 and 2009. Although he couldn't make any new world records in 2010, Bolt comfortably won the 2010 IAAF Diamond League. Bolt wanted to break the 300 m record set by Michael Johnson in the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, but he couldn't do so due to an injury in his Achilles tendon. After the recovery from the injury, which took a month, he came back to the track field and comfortably won the 100 m at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne. He also defeated Asafa Powell in Paris at the Meeting Areva. However, he lost the race to Tyson Gay at the 100 m finals at the DN Galan. The year 2011 was a mixture again. In the 2011 Daegu World Championships, Bolt was disqualified in the 100 meters finals because of a false start. He won the 200 meters in 19.40 s. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100 meters relay, setting the world record of 37.04 s, along with teammates Yohan Blake, Michael Frater, and Nesta Carter.

In the months leading up to the 2012 London Olympics, Bolt was widely criticized for supposedly not taking the competition seriously. After being pipped to the top spot at the Jamaican trials by Yohan Blake, there was widespread doubt over Bolt's ability to defend his 2008 titles. However, Bolt later said that losing to Blake was a wake-up call just before the Olympics and it helped him 'get his head in the game'. At the London Olympics, Bolt made history by becoming the first athlete to defend both the 100 m and 200 m Olympic titles, in addition to the 4x100 m relay, as part of the Jamaican team. The closest anyone had ever come to that achievement was Carl Lewis, who won the 100 m and the 200 m in the 1984 Olympics, and the 100 m in 1988.
Medal Haul

Event Discipline
2012 London Olympics (Gold) 100 m
2012 London Olympics (Gold) 200 m
2012 London Olympics (Gold) 4x100 m relay
2011 Daegu World Championships (Gold) 200 m
2011 Daegu World Championships (Gold) 4×100 m relay
2009 Berlin World Championships (Gold) 100 m
2009 Berlin World Championships (Gold) 200 m
2009 Berlin World Championships (Gold) 4×100 m relay
2008 Olympics Beijing (Gold) 100 m
2008 Olympics Beijing (Gold) 200 m
2008 Olympics Beijing (Gold) 4 x 100 m relay
2007 Osaka World Championship (Silver) 200 m
2007 Osaka World Championship (Silver) 4 x 100 m relay


Bolt is well-known for his frank, candid interviews as well as his speed records. After winning the gold medal in the 2012 Olympics 100 m (a race in which 7 of 8 contestants ran under 10 seconds) amidst widespread doubts about his fitness and attitude, he said of his critics, "All they can do is talk. I said it on the track". In the same Olympics, he won the 200 m gold and then declared that he "is now a legend", a claim refutable by few.

He is sometimes criticized for his laid-back attitude, especially for slowing down in the last moments of a race to celebrate, and practical jokes (he once hid in a van before the 200 m final), but who cares? He still continues to marvel us all with his magnificent speed and performance. He will undoubtedly continue with the same magnificent performance in the upcoming competitions. He is
undoubtedly the fastest man on earth, but if you think you have seen enough, wait, because more surprises and more records are coming your way from the "Lightning Bolt"!



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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Alexander the Great





Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégasiii[›] from the Greek ἀλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ἀνήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas.[1] He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.[2]
Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire.i[›] At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander's surviving generals and heirs.
Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.[3]ii[›]

 

Lineage and childhood

Alexander was born on the 6th day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is not known,[4] in Pella, the capital of the Ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon.[5] He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus.[6][7][8] Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely a result of giving birth to Alexander.[9]
Several legends surround Alexander's birth and childhood.[10] According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying away. Some time after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wife's womb with a seal engraved with a lion's image.[11] Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus. Ancient commentators were divided about whether the ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's divine parentage, variously claiming that she had told Alexander, or that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.[11]
On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and that his horses had won at the Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, attending the birth of Alexander.[7][12] Such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception.[10]

In his early years, Alexander was raised by a nurse, Lanike, sister of Alexander's future general Cleitus the Black. Later in his childhood, Alexander was tutored by the strict Leonidas, a relative of his mother, and by Philip's general Lysimachus.[13] Alexander was raised in the manner of noble Macedonian youths, learning to read, play the lyre, ride, fight, and hunt.[14]
When Alexander was ten years old, a trader from Thessaly brought Philip a horse, which he offered to sell for thirteen talents. The horse refused to be mounted and Philip ordered it away. Alexander however, detecting the horse's fear of its own shadow, asked to tame the horse, which he eventually managed.[10] Plutarch stated that Philip, overjoyed at this display of courage and ambition, kissed his son tearfully, declaring: "My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you", and bought the horse for him.[15] Alexander named it Bucephalas, meaning "ox-head". Bucephalas carried Alexander as far as Pakistan. When the animal died (due to old age, according to Plutarch, at age thirty), Alexander named a city after him, Bucephala.[8][16][17] The primary (actually secondary) accounts are two: Plutarch's Life of Alexander, 6, and Arrian's Anabasis Alexandri V.19.</ref> state that Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, in what is now modern Pakistan, and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan. Another account states that Bucephalus is buried in Phalia, a town in Pakistan's Mandi Bahauddin District, which is named after him.

Adolescence and education

When Alexander was 13, Philip began to search for a tutor, and considered such academics as Isocrates and Speusippus, the latter offering to resign to take up the post. In the end, Philip chose Aristotle and provided the Temple of the Nymphs at Mieza as a classroom. In return for teaching Alexander, Philip agreed to rebuild Aristotle's hometown of Stageira, which Philip had razed, and to repopulate it by buying and freeing the ex-citizens who were slaves, or pardoning those who were in exile.[18][19][20]
Mieza was like a boarding school for Alexander and the children of Macedonian nobles, such as Ptolemy, Hephaistion, and Cassander. Many of these students would become his friends and future generals, and are often known as the 'Companions'. Aristotle taught Alexander and his companions about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic, and art. Under Aristotle's tutelage, Alexander developed a passion for the works of Homer, and in particular the Iliad; Aristotle gave him an annotated copy, which Alexander later carried on his campaigns.[21][22][23]

Death and succession

On either 10 or 11 June 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, at age 32.[130] Details of the death differ slightly – Plutarch's account is that roughly 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained admiral Nearchus, and spent the night and next day drinking with Medius of Larissa.[131]
He developed a fever, which worsened until he was unable to speak. The common soldiers, anxious about his health, were granted the right to file past him as he silently waved at them.[132] Diodorus recounts that Alexander was struck with pain after downing a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Hercules, and died after some agony.[133] Arrian also mentioned this as an alternative, but Plutarch specifically denied this claim.[131]
Given the propensity of the Macedonian aristocracy to assassination,[134] foul play featured in multiple accounts of his death. Diodorus, Plutarch, Arrian and Justin all mentioned the theory that Alexander was poisoned. Plutarch dismissed it as a fabrication,[135] while both Diodorus and Arrian noted that they mentioned it only for the sake of completeness.[133][136]
The accounts were nevertheless fairly consistent in designating Antipater, recently removed as Macedonian viceroy, and at odds with Olympias, as the head of the alleged plot. Perhaps taking his summons to Babylon as a death sentence,[137] and having seen the fate of Parmenion and Philotas,[138] Antipater purportedly arranged for Alexander to be poisoned by his son Iollas, who was Alexander's wine-pourer.[136][138] There was even a suggestion that Aristotle may have participated.[136]
The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available.[139] In 2010, however, a new theory proposed that the circumstances of his death were compatible with poisoning by water of the river Styx (Mavroneri) that contained calicheamicin, a dangerous compound produced by bacteria.[140]
Several natural causes (diseases) have been suggested, including malaria and typhoid fever. A 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed his death to typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation and ascending paralysis.[141] Another recent analysis suggested pyrogenic spondylitis or meningitis.[142] Other illnesses fit the symptoms, including acute pancreatitis and West Nile virus.[143][144]
Natural-cause theories also tend to emphasise that Alexander's health may have been in general decline after years of heavy drinking and severe wounds. The anguish that Alexander felt after Hephaestion's death may also have contributed to his declining health.[141] The most likely possible cause is an overdose of medication containing hellebore, which is deadly in large doses.[145][146]

After death

Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket.[147][148] According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever".[149] Perhaps more likely, the successors may have seen possession of the body as a symbol of legitimacy, since burying the prior king was a royal prerogative.[150]
While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy stole it and took it to Memphis.[147][149] His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy's final successors, replaced Alexander's sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage.[151]
Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria. The latter allegedly accidentally knocked the nose off the body. Caligula was said to have taken Alexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. In c. AD 200, Emperor Septimius Severus closed Alexander's tomb to the public. His son and successor, Caracalla, a great admirer, visited the tomb during his own reign. After this, details on the fate of the tomb are hazy.[151]
The so-called "Alexander Sarcophagus", discovered near Sidon and now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, is so named not because it was thought to have contained Alexander's remains, but because its bas-reliefs depict Alexander and his companions fighting the Persians and hunting. It was originally thought to have been the sarcophagus of Abdalonymus (died 311 BC), the king of Sidon appointed by Alexander immediately following the battle of Issus in 331.[152][153] However, more recently, it has been suggested that it may date from earlier than Abdalonymus' death.

 

 



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David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham

, OBE[2] (born 2 May 1975)[3] is an English footballer. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, most recently Los Angeles Galaxy and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.[4]
Beckham's professional career began with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.[5] With United, Beckham won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.[5] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,[6] winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.[7] In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy,[8] signing a five-year contract on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.[9]
In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was made captain from 15 November 2000[10] until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals,[11] during which he played 58 times. He earned his 100th cap against France on 26 March 2008,[12] and became the all-time outfield player appearance record holder on 28 March 2009, when he surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps.[4] With 115 career appearances to date, he has stated that he does not intend to retire from international football. Having missed the 2010 World Cup through injury, Beckham has not played for England since 14 October 2009. He remains 10 caps short of the record number of 125 caps by goalkeeper Peter Shilton, for a player of any position.[13]
Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year[5] and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals.[14] Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.[5] He is third in the Premier League's all time time assist provider chart, with 152 assists in 265 appearances.[15] When joining the MLS in 2007 he was given the highest player salary in the league's history, with his playing contract with the Galaxy over the next three years being worth US$6.5m per year.[16][17][18][19]
He is married to Victoria Beckham and they have four children—Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. As of 2009, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £125 million.[20

International goals

As of 28 October 2009

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Reports
1. 26 June 1998 Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens  Colombia 2–0 2–0 1998 FIFA World Cup [165]
2. 24 March 2001 Anfield, Liverpool  Finland 2–1 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup Qual. [166]
3. 25 May 2001 Pride Park, Derby  Mexico 3–0 4–0 Friendly match [167]
4. 6 June 2001 Olympic Stadium, Athens  Greece 2–0 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup Qual. [168]
5. 6 October 2001 Old Trafford, Manchester  Greece 2–2 2–2 2002 FIFA World Cup Qual. [169]
6. 10 November 2001 Old Trafford, Manchester  Sweden 1–0 1–1 Friendly match [170]
7. 7 June 2002 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo  Argentina 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup [171]
8. 12 October 2002 Tehelné pole, Bratislava  Slovakia 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. [172]
9. 16 October 2002 St Mary's Stadium, Southampton  Macedonia 1–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. [173]
10. 29 March 2003 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz  Liechtenstein 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. [174]
11. 2 April 2003 Stadium of Light, Sunderland  Turkey 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. [175]
12. 20 August 2003 Portman Road, Ipswich  Croatia 1–0 3–1 Friendly match [176]
13. 6 September 2003 Gradski, Skopje  Macedonia 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. [177]
14. 18 August 2004 St James' Park, Newcastle  Ukraine 1–0 3–0 Friendly match [178]
15. 9 October 2004 Old Trafford, Manchester  Wales 2–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual. [179]
16. 30 March 2005 St James' Park, Newcastle  Azerbaijan 2–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual. [180]
17. 25 June 2006 Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart  Ecuador 1–0 1–0 2006 FIFA World Cup [181]



Discipline

Former manager Alex Ferguson said that he "practised with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn't care about."[182] He maintained his training routine at Real Madrid and even when his relationship with management was strained in early 2007, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón and manager Fabio Capello praised Beckham for maintaining his professionalism and commitment to the club.[183][184]
Beckham was the first England player ever to collect two red cards and the first England captain to be sent off.[185] Beckham's most notorious red card was during the 1998 FIFA World Cup after Argentina's Diego Simeone had fouled him, Beckham lashed out with his leg and the Argentine fell.
He amassed 41 yellow cards and four red cards for Real Madrid.[186]

Honours

Club


Manchester United

Real Madrid

Los Angeles Galaxy

International


England

Individual

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Mother Terasa History


                           Life History of Mother Teresa



Mother Teresa was born on August 27,1910 in Skopje,Macedonia. Mother Teresa's original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. The youngest of the children born to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. Her father was a successful merchant and she was youngest of the three siblings. She received her First Communion at the age of five and a half and was confirmed in November 1916. From the day of her First Holy Communion, a love for souls was within her. Her father’s sudden death when Gonxha was about eight years old left in the family in financial straits. Drane raised her children firmly and lovingly, greatly influencing her daughter’s character and vocation. Gonxha’s religious formation was further assisted by the vibrant Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart in which she was much involved. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At the age of 18 she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. There she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

After a few months of training at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dublin Mother Teresa came to India on 6 January 1929. On May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. On 24 May 1937, Sister Teresa made her Final Profession of Vows, becoming, as she said, the “spouse of Jesus” for “all eternity.” From that time on she was called Mother Teresa. She continued teaching at St. Mary’s and in 1944 became the school’s principal. A person of profound prayer and deep love for her religious sisters and her students, Mother Teresa’s twenty years in Loreto were filled with profound happiness. Noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her capacity for hard work and a natural talent for organization, she lived out her consecration to Jesus, in the midst of her companions, with fidelity and joy.

Mother Teresa's words are

“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. ”Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire: “to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”

On 10 September 1946 during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. Over the course of the next weeks and months, by means of interior locutions and visions, Jesus revealed to her the desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.” “Come be My light,” He begged her. “I cannot go alone.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor, His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor. However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta had a deep impact on Mother Teresa's mind and in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta . On August 17, 1948, she dressed for the first time in a white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to enter the world of the poor.

After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, she returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. She started an open-air school for homeless children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and she received financial support from church organizations and the municipal authorities. On 21 December she went for the first time to the slums. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to start her own order. Vatican originally labeled the order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and it later came to known as the "Missionaries of Charity". The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to take care of those persons who nobody was prepared to look after.

She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.” After some months, she was joined, one by one, by her former students. By the early 1960s, Mother Teresa began to send her Sisters to other parts of India. The Decree of Praise granted to the Congregation by Pope Paul VI in February 1965 encouraged her to open a house in Venezuela. It was soon followed by foundations in Rome and Tanzania and, eventually, on every continent. Starting in 1980 and continuing through the 1990s, Mother Teresa opened houses in almost all of the communist countries, including the former Soviet Union, Albania and Cuba.

The physical and spiritual needs of the poor, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963, in 1976 the contemplative branch of the Sisters, in 1979 the Contemplative Brothers, and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She formed the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, people of many faiths and nationalities with whom she shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, sacrifice and her apostolate of humble works of love. This spirit later inspired the Lay Missionaries of Charity. In answer to the requests of many priests, in 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests as a “little way of holiness” for those who desire to share in her charism and spirit.
She has received a number of awards and distinctions Numerous awards, beginning with the Indian Padmashri Award in 1962 and notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, honoured her work, while an increasingly interested media began to follow her activities. She received both prizes and attention “for the glory of God and in the name of the poor.” These include the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for Promotion of International Peace & Understanding (1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Bharat Ratna (1980).

The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love, and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. On March 13, 1997, Mother Teresa stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She died on September 5, 1997, just 9 days after her 87th birthday. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to the thirsting love of God. Following Mother Teresa's death, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the second step towards possible canonization, or sainthood.

Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonization. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.

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