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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1615 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1615

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth, and honoring the life 
                     and legacy, of Mother Teresa.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2010

Mr. Fortenberry submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                  to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth, and honoring the life 
                     and legacy, of Mother Teresa.

Whereas Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in 
        Skopje, Macedonia;
Whereas Mother Teresa was baptized on August 27, the day she considered to be 
        her ``true birthday'';
Whereas Mother Teresa began her novitiate in Darjeeling, India, in 1929, and 
        took her vows as a nun in 1931, choosing the name Teresa after Therese 
        de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries;
Whereas Mother Teresa taught at the Loreto convent school in eastern Calcutta 
        during the Bengal famine of 1943 and the outbreak of Hindu and Muslim 
        violence in 1946;
Whereas on September 10, 1946, while traveling from Calcutta, Mother Teresa 
        received ``the call within the call'' to leave her convent and live and 
        work among the poor;
Whereas on October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa began the small 13-member Missionaries 
        of Charity in Calcutta to care for ``the hungry, the naked, the 
        homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel 
        unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have 
        become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone,'';
Whereas the Missionaries of Charity has grown to more than 4,000 nuns worldwide;
Whereas in 1952 Mother Teresa opened a free hospice for the poor in Calcutta and 
        a hospice for those suffering from leprosy, and in 1955, opened the 
        Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart for orphans and abandoned and 
        homeless children, leading to the opening of similar hospices, 
        orphanages, homes for poor expectant mothers, adoption centers, and 
        homes for lepers around the world, including in the United States;
Whereas Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1979 in ``recognition 
        of Mother Teresa's work in bringing help to suffering humanity,'' 
        particularly ``the plight of children and refugees, . . . for whom 
        Mother Teresa has for many years worked so selflessly'';
Whereas during the Lebanon War in 1982, Mother Teresa brokered a temporary 
        ceasefire between the Israeli army and Palestinian Liberation 
        Organization to rescue 37 children trapped in a hospital on the front 
        lines and personally evacuated them;
Whereas in 1985, Mother Teresa opened the first hospice for AIDS victims in New 
        York;
Whereas Mother Teresa ministered to radiation victims following the disaster at 
        Chernobyl, traveled to aid victims of famine in Ethiopia, brought 
        assistance to earthquake victims in Armenia, and organized aid flights 
        in flood-stricken Bangladesh;
Whereas Mother Teresa spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast sponsored by the 
        U.S. Congress in 1994, urging, ``Let us make that one point--that no 
        child will be unwanted, unloved, uncared for, or killed and thrown away. 
        And give until it hurts--with a smile.'';
Whereas Mother Teresa died in Calcutta at the age of 87 on September 5, 1997;
Whereas by the time of her death, Mother Teresa operated 610 foundations in 123 
        countries;
Whereas Mother Teresa was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 
        1985, granted honorary U.S. citizenship in 1996, and received the U.S. 
        Congressional Gold Medal in 1997;
Whereas on December 20, 2002, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of Mother 
        Teresa's Cause of Canonization;
Whereas Mother Teresa was beatified on October 19, 2003, as Blessed Teresa of 
        Calcutta; and
Whereas the year-long birth centenary celebration of Mother Teresa began on 
        August 26, 2010; Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives commemorates the 100th 
anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth and her enduring legacy of 
humility and sacrifice, exemplified by nearly 50 years of actively 
comforting the poor, the dying, and the unwanted across the globe.
                                 <all>
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