The United Nations General Assembly, through a special resolution, designated September 5—the anniversary of the death of Saint Mother Teresa—as the International Day of Charity.
The International Day of Charity was established to raise awareness and mobilize people, NGOs, and stakeholders around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities.
The day also recognizes the role of charitable organizations in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering within and between countries, as well as the efforts of charitable organizations and individuals, including the extraordinary contribution of Saint Mother Teresa.
In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015, the United Nations recognized that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an essential requirement for sustainable development.
The Agenda also calls for a spirit of global solidarity, ranging from small enterprises to large cooperatives, civil society organizations, and philanthropic institutions, in implementing the Agenda with a focus on the needs of the poorest and those most affected by humanitarian crises.
September 5 was chosen as the date for the International Day of Charity to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Saint Teresa, whose full name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was born on August 26, 1910, in Skopje. She was a renowned Albanian humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. On October 19, 2003, she was beatified by the Vatican.
For more than 45 years, she devoted herself to serving the poor, the sick, and orphans. She cared for 7,500 children in 60 schools, provided medical assistance to 960,000 patients through 213 dispensaries, and helped 47,000 people affected by leprosy through 54 clinics. She also cared for 3,400 abandoned and elderly people in 20 nursing homes and adopted 160 children who were illegitimate or orphaned.
Saint Teresa died on September 5, 1997, in Calcutta, India. On July 4, 2016, Pope Francis formally proclaimed Mother Teresa a saint, following the required canonization process and ceremonies held at the Vatican.
