Anjeze's Arrival in India

• Anjeze arrived in Madras and was shocked by the poverty
• She witnessed homeless and jobless families surviving by begging
• Anjeze was horrified by a Hindu funeral she saw
• Romantic fantasies about life in India began to vanish

Calcutta and Darjeeling

• Anjeze and her fellow postulant arrived in Calcutta nearly seven weeks later
• In mid-January 1929, they were taken to the Loreto Novitiate in Darjeeling, 630 kilometers north

Colonial Life

• India was still a British colony
• Colonial officers retreated to Darjeeling to escape the heat of Calcutta and New Delhi
• Darjeeling was a resort town for four months of the year, featuring garden parties, cricket, polo, dances, and stage productions

Loreto Sisters' Mission

• Teaching was the primary focus
• The Darjeeling novitiate trained novices in spirituality and teaching techniques
• Novices taught in the school attached to the novitiate for two hours daily
• They were required to learn an Indian language
• Anjeze became fluent in Bengali and picked up some Hindi

Vows and New Name

• Anjeze took her initial vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in late March 1931
• She chose the name Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Jesus
• She had a devotion to Thérèse of Lisieux, canonized by Pope Pius XI

Similarities to Thérèse of Lisieux

• Both had similar nicknames: "little bud" and "little flower"
• Thérèse longed to travel to exotic lands as a missionary
• Both came from pious families, lost a parent, suffered from ill health, and were coddled as the youngest children

Spiritual Bond

• The most significant bond was a spiritual one
• The Little Flower taught that God is satisfied with "little" acts of love
• Teresa was convinced her call was to serve individuals, not large groups, step by step, day by day, and person by person

Initial Assignment

• Teresa was sent back to Calcutta and assigned to the Loreto orphanage and school compound in Entally
• Entally was one of the most poverty-stricken areas in Calcutta
• It was avoided by Europeans and Indian Brahmins
• The people were mostly Dalits or "untouchables”, the lowest rung in the caste system

Dalits

• Dalits performed tasks no higher caste member would do
• They cleaned public toilets, picked up refuse, and slaughtered animals
• Thousands of peasants, forced off their lands, flooded into the slums of Calcutta

Loreto Compound

• The Loreto compound was founded in 1845 consisting of buildings within high walls
• The nuns served about 500 children within the school and orphanage

St. Mary's School

• Sister Teresa was assigned to St. Mary's, teaching geography and history
• Compound had grass, trees, and adequate food and water
• Sisters had long and hard working days beginning with prayers and Mass followed by teaching and supervising children

St. Teresa's School

• After four years, Teresa asked to be reassigned to St. Teresa's, a primary school on the other side of the compound walls
• She had daily contact with poverty, squalor, disease, and crime in Entally
• Teresa began visiting Entally's poor on Sundays, offering friendship and basic necessities
• She also visited them in the hospital and was struck by their gratitude
• Observed the poor were famished for love and dignity

Drana and the Seeds of Charity

• Teresa's insight that the poor hungered for love had been sown earlier by her mother, Drana
• Drana cared for a woman named File, who had a skin disease that others abandoned her for, reinforcing Teresa's desire to show untouchables love

Final Vows and Restlessness

• On May 24, 1937, Teresa took final vows and was known as Mother Teresa
• Despite her work, she remained restless

Thirst for Christ

• Teresa expresses her struggle to offer everything to Christ, yet felt a desire to "drink the chalice to the last drop."

Pillars of Spirituality

• Teresa began formulating what would become one of the pillars of her spirituality
• Christ thirsted with an unquenchable yearning for love, leading from Loreto to the Calcutta slums

World War II Impact

• Life was disrupted by World War II
• The Loreto compound was requisitioned by the army
• Students and teachers were evacuated in 1942
• About 300 young students were moved to accommodations nearby
• Mother Teresa was named principal of this temporary school

Principal Responsibilities

• Teresa was responsible for the welfare of her students and teachers
• Food, medicine, and basic staples were in short supply due to the Japanese occupation of Burma
• Frequently, Teresa begged for supplies
• During the nationwide famine in 1943, two million newcomers to Calcutta perished

Vow of Dedication

• In April 1942, a private vow captured Mother Teresa's dedication to Christ
• She vowed to give God anything He may ask and not refuse Him anything

Return to Loreto

• At the end of the war, she resumed her duties and was a skilled administrator
• Social unrest caused by wartime poverty fueled hostilities between the city's Hindu and Muslim residents

Partition of India

• When the British government announced that India would become independent in 1947, a power struggle between Muslims and Hindus began
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared the only solution was a separate Muslim state
• The Muslim League announced a "Direct Action Day" on August 16, 1946

"Direct Action Day"

• Marches and rallies exploded in riotous mayhem in Calcutta
• Around 4,000 to 8,000 Calcuttans died, 15,000 were injured, and 100,000 were left homeless
• Teresa braved the chaos to find food for her students

Aftermath of Violence

• The sight of broken, bloody corpses horrified Teresa, yet she tried to see rioters as Christs in distressing disguise
• The war years and Direct Action Day were hard on Mother Teresa
• Her health began to falter
• She was ordered to remain in bed for three hours every day, which she considered a harsh penance

Move to Darjeeling

• Made the decision to send Mother Teresa to the Loreto house in Darjeeling
• Ostensible purpose was for the annual spiritual retreat

Call Within A Call

• On September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she referred to as her "call within a call" and her "day of inspiration"
• It would set her course for an entire half-century