Mother Teresa Leaves for the Convent

After six years of prayerful consideration, Agnes left for the convent of the Sisters of Loreto on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1928. She was 18 years old, and never saw her mother again. She chose the name Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Jesus after Teresa of Lisieux- the "Little Flower" who had pointed the way to holiness through fidelity to small things. 11 On her voyage she wrote:

"So now we had Mass daily, and life on board no longer seemed so desolate to us. We did not have a very solemn New Year's Eve but all the same we sang the Te Deum in our hearts. Thanks be to God, we began the new year well - with a sung Mass which seemed a little more majestic to us. " 12

She never forgot her hometown and family, although her life was to live all for God. Thirty three years later she wrote:

"I thought that the people of Skopje had completely forgotten Agnes, as you are the first to write to me in such a long time. Pray fbr me. I will also pray for our people in Skopje, that they might pray for me. My mother and sister are still in Tirana. Only God knows why they have to suffer so much. I know that their sacrifices and prayers help me in my work. It is all to the greater glory of God."  13