Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa's name immediately conjures up a vision of a small, frail woman in a white sari, offering love and compassion to the poorest of the poor who live in the slums of Calcutta, in cardboard boxes in London, in the ghettos of New York, and in the shadow of the Vatican itself. In recognition of her unique work, the world has lavished on her its highest honors and awards, from the Nobel Peace Prize to the Order of Merit presented by Queen Elizabeth. These she has accepted only in the name of the poor, whom she and her Missionaries of Charity so devotedly serve - 'I am but a pencil in the hands of the Lord, it is his work', she has repeatedly said. Starting out with no resources or preconceived ideas, armed only with her faith, Mother Teresa has created an enormously successful religious order that has spread to over a hundred countries, setting up institutions for the destitute, the handicapped, orphans, the leprosy-affected and the dying. Yet her main work remains in the midst of the slums and the dirt of the streets.