wished to see their teacher in a sari, her leaving was a solitary affair. That
evening, she left the convent grounds in a taxi as quietly as she had come
almost 20 years before. In her pocket, she carried five rupees and a ticket
to Patna.
A NEW BEGINNING
On August 17, Mother Teresa arrived at Patna, an old city located on
the banks of the Ganges River. Sister Stephanie was there waiting to wel-
come her. They went together to the Holy Family Hospital, where
Mother Teresa would spend the next few months receiving her medical
training.
The hospital and convent buildings were located in the poorer section
of Patna, known as Padri ki Haveli (House of the Fathers), and was named
after the first church built in the town. The Holy Family Hospital, which
formerly served as a school building, was modest: two stories high with a
small separate building to one side that housed the operating and delivery
rooms. The hospital was staffed by nuns who were doctors, mainly gyne-
cologists, obstetricians, and surgeons. Other nuns served as nurses, labora-
tory technicians, and nutritionists. The hospital also housed a nursing
school that many Indian girls attended.
The convent where Mother Teresa would take her meals and sleep oc-
cupied part of the former church. Built of stone blocks, it had a high ceil-
ing, a worn stone floor, small gothic-shaped windows, and whitewashed
walls. The main part of the church was divided into small cubicles by
bamboo rods and white cotton sheets. The garden was once the cemetery;
on very hot nights, many slept between the tombstones covered with
mosquito netting. The hopsital staff ate in the former servant’s quarters
with an old Hindu cook maintaining the small kitchen.
Because the hospital was so busy, there was little fanfare to welcome
Mother Teresa. Instead, she was put into a cubicle, given a chair in the
dining room, and included in the day-to-day running of the hospital.
Many of the sisters realized that she was in a period of transition, and
while Mother Teresa knew what she was to do, she was still unclear about
how she was to carry out her calling. In the meantime, the Medical Mis-
sion Sisters tried to make her feel at home and helped prepare her for the
grueling work ahead.
Now, instead of lecturing students, Mother Teresa’s days were filled
with new experiences; she never knew what to expect from one day to the
next. Whenever there was a new admission, an impending birth-or-
operation, Mother Teresa was summoned at the same time as a doctor was
A NEW DIRECTION AND A NEW JOURNEY 35