Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity
(MC), a religious community that includes the MC
Sisters (Sisters of Mother Teresa, active and
contemplative), the MC Brothers (active and
contemplative) and the MC Fathers. These branches
share in her charism of service to the poorest of the
poor.

Our associates are: Co-Workers of Mother Teresa,
Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, Lay Missionaries of
Charity, Corpus Christi movement for priests. None
of these associations, neither any of their individual
members, are authorised to act in our name.

Though there are numerous other associations that
claim Mother Teresa as foundress or that claim some
kind of affiliation with her or that claim the support
or endorsement of the Missionaries of Charity, they
are not in any way associated with Mother Teresa or
the Missionaries of Charity.

Mother Teresa did not allow her name, words or
image to be used for any fundraising or solicitation
of donation for any charitable work however
praiseworthy, not even for the works of her own
religious community. For her own works of charity
among the poorest of the poor she relied entirely on
God’s Providence through the spontaneous free will
offerings of generous donors. We, the Missionaries of
Charity and the Mother Teresa Center (a non-profit
organization established and directed by the
Missionaries of Charity to oversee Mother Teresa’s
intellectual property rights) continue to uphold her
explicit wishes in this regard. Further, Mother Teresa
reserved the right to use her name, words and image
exclusively to the Missionaries of Charity (the
religious order she founded), at the sole discretion of
our Superior General.

However, it is frequently brought to our attention that
various organizations use Mother Teresa’s name, words or
image and/or claim their association or affiliation with us
the Missionaries of Charity. While we appreciate your
freedom and good intentions in donating, we do wish to
inform you that the following organizations are not
associated in any way with us or with Mother Teresa; they
have continued to use Mother Teresa’s name in their title
or in their fundraising endeavors in spite of the efforts of
Mother Teresa’ (during her lifetime) and of the
Missionaries of Charity (after her death) to make them
discontinue using her name::

As this list is not complete or exhaustive, if you have a
doubt whether an organization is connected with us,
please contact mtc@motherteresa.org for further
information.