Mother Teresa Family Tree: The Story Behind Calcutta's Saint

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu — known to the world as Mother Teresa and now Saint Teresa of Calcutta — born 26 August 1910 in Skopje, Ottoman Empire (today North Macedonia), was an Albanian-Indian Catholic religious sister who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta (1950) — running orphanages, hospices, and homes for the poor across India and 130+ countries. Nobel Peace Prize 1979; canonised 4 September 2016. Died 5 September 1997 in Calcutta.

The Family's Roots: An Albanian Catholic Family in Skopje

The Bojaxhiu family was Albanian Catholic, an unusual heritage in the Orthodox-majority and Muslim-majority territories of the Ottoman Empire. The family was prosperous before Mother Teresa's father died.

Her Parents

Father: Nikollë Bojaxhiu (c. 1874–1919) — Albanian merchant; pharmacist; involved in Albanian nationalist politics; died (possibly by poisoning) when Anjezë was 8 — a defining childhood loss that plunged the family into poverty.

Mother: Dranafile "Drane" Bernai Bojaxhiu (1889–1972) — homemaker; raised the family alone after Nikollë's death; deeply devout Catholic; the major spiritual influence on Anjezë.

Her Siblings

Age "Aga" Bojaxhiu (1904–1973) — elder sister; lived with their mother in Albania; never reunited with Teresa.

Lazar Bojaxhiu (1907–1981) — elder brother; lieutenant in the Albanian army; later emigrated to Italy and Palermo.

Her Personal Life

As a Catholic religious sister, Mother Teresa never married and had no children. She entered religious life at age 18 (in 1928) and never returned to her home country.

The Bojaxhiu Family Tree at a Glance

Family Origins: Albanian Catholic family in Skopje (Ottoman Empire / modern North Macedonia).

Father: Nikollë Bojaxhiu (c. 1874–1919) — merchant; pharmacist; died (possibly poisoned) when Anjezë was 8.

Mother: Dranafile "Drane" Bernai Bojaxhiu (1889–1972) — homemaker; deeply devout.

Siblings: Aga Bojaxhiu (1904–1973); Lazar Bojaxhiu (1907–1981) — Albanian army officer; later in Italy.

Mother Teresa:

  • Born 26 August 1910, Skopje
  • Entered the Sisters of Loreto at age 18: 1928, Dublin and Rathfarnham
  • Travelled to Calcutta (Kolkata), British India: 1929 — taught at Loreto Convent School for 17 years
  • Took final vows: 1937
  • "Call within a call": 10 September 1946 — on a train to Darjeeling; decided to leave the convent to live and work among the poor
  • Missionaries of Charity: founded 7 October 1950 in Calcutta
  • First Nirmal Hriday (home for the dying): 1952
  • Order spread across India (1960s); then internationally (1965 onwards)
  • Pope Paul VI Prize: 1971; Templeton Prize: 1973
  • Bharat Ratna: 1980 (India's highest civilian honour)
  • Nobel Peace Prize: 1979 (declined the ceremonial banquet, asking that the funds be donated to the poor)
  • Died 5 September 1997, Calcutta, age 87
  • Beatified: 19 October 2003 by Pope John Paul II
  • Canonised: 4 September 2016 by Pope Francis as Saint Teresa of Calcutta

What the Bojaxhiu Family Story Teaches Us

A merchant-pharmacist father who died (possibly poisoned for his nationalist politics) when Anjezë was 8. A devout mother who became the central spiritual influence and raised the family alone. Two elder siblings whom Mother Teresa never saw again after her departure for Ireland in 1928. A life of religious service that left her physical family behind to build a global spiritual family of nuns and the poor she served.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Mother Teresa story carries the same lesson. Sometimes religious vows mean separation from biological family. Mother Teresa never saw her mother again after 1928; her mother died in Albania in 1972 still asking to see her daughter. Write down which family members were separated — and why. Separation is itself a family entry.

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