Nun, saint, humanitarian, Padma Shri or a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mother Teresa was a lot of things, but Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (her real name) was a person worth remembering. Mother Teresa spent her entire life serving the needy, with utmost love and selflessness. Today the world is celebrating the 109th birth anniversary of Mother Teresa. On this day, let's remember the inspiring quotes by the lady who changed people's perception towards the unprivileged section of the society.

Born on August 26, 1910, in a Kosovar Albanian family in Skopje -- now the capital of North Macedonia -- Ottoman Empire, Mother Teresa considered 27 August as her "true birthday", as she was baptised on that day. She lost her father -- Nikollë Bojaxhiu -- at the age of eight. She left home in 1928 at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto at Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland. Since she was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service in Bengal, she took a decision to commit herself to religious life. Mother Teresa 109th Birth Anniversary: Remembering The Nobel Laureate Known For Humanitarian Work Across The Globe

Anjezë Gonxhe moved to India, after learning English from Ireland, her novitiate in Darjeeling. There she learnt Bengali and taught at St. Teresa's School near her convent. Later, she took her solemn vows on 14 May 1937, while she was a teacher at the Loreto convent school in Entally, eastern Calcutta. She was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta, the Bengal famine of 1943 and August 1946 Muslim-Hindu violence. In 1949, she laid the foundation for a new religious community helping the "poorest among the poor". That's how Missionaries of Charity came into existence. International Day of Charity 2018: Know History, Significance and Celebrations About This Day.

Here are inspiring quotes by the symbol of humanity:

1: The quotes reads:

Peace begins with a smile.

2: The quotes reads:

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

3: The quote reads:

Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

4: The quotes reads:

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

5: The quote reads:

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

6: The quote reads:

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

And the last one:

7: The quote reads:

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Considering Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu's dedication and work towards the needy and underprivileged, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna -- India's highest civilian award -- in 1980. Teresa's official biography, by Navin Chawla, was published in 1992. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth, the government of India issued a special Rs 5 coin (the amount of money Teresa had when she arrived in India) on 28 August 2010. The rest is history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2019 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).