Introduction to Mother Teresa’s Life
Teresa was 19 years old when she moved to India, where she was confronted with misery, hunger, and illness. As a member of the Catholic Loreto Order, she lived as a nun and teacher in Calcutta (now Kolkata), dedicating herself to educational and missionary work. The city was overcrowded, with a state welfare system that was overwhelmed and a health system that was practically non-existent. After around 200 years of colonial rule, India faced enormous challenges shortly after its independence from Great Britain, with thousands of people dying in violent crises.
The Chaos of Calcutta
The film "Mother" depicts the extent of this chaos, showing a cityscape full of noise, cramped conditions, and crowds of people. Teresa was born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje (then part of the Ottoman Empire, now the capital of North Macedonia) and appears in the film as a woman searching for her calling amid ruins and hardship. During a train ride, she experienced her "calling within a calling": to live not just for God, but for and among the poorest of the poor.
A Woman Rebels Against Her Church
The film portrays Teresa as a woman who rebels against the Catholic Church. Her plan was revolutionary: leave the monastery, found her own order, move into the slums, and care for the sick and dying – as a nun outside the order. The Catholic Church curbed her ideas because Teresa’s wishes meant a break with old traditions and obedience. However, she remained stubborn, and it was not until 1948 that the Vatican gave in and finally founded the worldwide Order of Missionaries of Charity in 1950.
Vanity or Charity?
The film portrays Teresa critically but respectfully, with some controversies only hinted at. For example, in a celebratory scene, Teresa wonders whether her commitment really comes from pure charity or more from vanity – a moment that briefly puts the myth aside and shows Teresa examining herself. She later discusses abortion with the priest who runs the monastery, raising the question of whether compassion also allows dissent – against the institution of the church, which condemns abortion.
The Dark Side of the Myth
Despite her veneration, the image of the real Teresa – who was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016 – has long been tarnished. Human rights organizations accused her of providing inadequate pain relief and hygiene in her accommodation, which they said was more like hospices than hospitals. The conditions in Mother Teresa’s hospices were criticized, with hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from sometimes dubious sources, while the medical standards in its facilities were disastrous.
How Feminist Was Teresa?
Teresa has been particularly vocal about the issue of abortion, calling it "murder" and "the greatest destroyer of peace" in her Nobel Peace Prize speech in 1979. This made her a moral leader of conservative movements. At the same time, Teresa became the target of feminist criticism, which accused her of subordinating women’s rights to the idea of self-sacrifice. However, the film’s director, Teona Strugar Mitevska, says Teresa had feminist traits, as she took the freedom to be who she was in order to achieve her goal.
Teresa’s Doubts and Legacy
Teresa suffered from severe doubts in her final decades, with her letters and diary entries revealing a lot of loneliness and the constant question of whether God even exists. The woman, who was seen as a symbol of hope around the world, wrote that she was "ice cold" inside and that the sky no longer meant anything to her. Perhaps that’s what makes her character so human. The film asks us the question: Can a woman be a saint – and at the same time politically problematic? It shows Teresa as a character with limitations, raising problems and encouraging a new conversation about her legacy.
