The Missionaries of Charity

After two years of working with the poorest of Calcutta, the Missionaries of Charity was recognized and established by the Archdiocese of Calcutta, October 7, 1950. In that time of solitary work, Mother Teresa had established an open-air school, and a home for the poor and dying, established in a building she convinced the government to donate to her.

The Missionaries of Charity began with 12 members, mostly Mother Teresa's former colleagues and pupils. However, their numbers quickly swelled, and as they did, the Missionaries of Charity accomplished much for the city of Calcutta, and the world. Through the 1950s and 1960s, they established a nursing home, an orphanage, a leper colony, and a large number of medical clinics. Mother Teresa spent as much time as she could working with the poor.