zation Amnesty International for championing human rights around the
world. She later joked that the prize would only come to her when Jesus
thought it was time.
Then, in 1979, her name was put forward again, only with much less
fanfare. Although the name of the person who put forward Mother
Teresa’s name has never been publicly acknowledged, it is thought to have
been Robert McNamara. McNamara had known Mother Teresa for al-
most two decades and was very familiar with her work with the poor. He
had also worked with her on occasion in the Food for Peace program. In
1975, writing about Mother Teresa and her work, McNamara stated:More important than the organisational structure of her work
is the message it conveys that genuine peace is not the mere
absence of hostilities, but rather that tranquility that arises out
of a social order in which individuals treat one another with
justice and compassion. The long history of human conflict
suggests that without greater recognition of that fact—a fact
which Mother Teresa’s concern for the absolute poor strikingly
so illustrates—the prospects for world peace will remain per-
ilously fragile.^3Then, on October 16, 1979, came the announcement that many had
waited for: the Nobel committee awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize to
Mother Teresa. In the wake of the pronouncement, some nagging ques-
tions remained. Why, for instance, did the committee choose Mother
Teresa this time and not others? Who had, in fact, nominated her? But be-
cause the committee’s meetings are kept secret, no one will ever know
what took place during the deliberations for the award.
Meanwhile, in Calcutta, Mother Teresa was mobbed when the news
was announced. Journalists and photographers jostled one another as they
tried to talk to Mother Teresa to get her reaction to the good news. Stand-
ing in front of the Motherhouse, she spoke to the gathering media about
the news, stating “I am unworthy. I accept the prize in the name of the
poor. The prize is the recognition of the poor world....By serving the poor
I am serving him.” A reception was held in her honor in which one offi-
cial proclaimed, “You have been the mother of Bengal and now you are
the mother of the world.”^4 That same day, a small abandoned baby girl was
brought into the Shishu Bhavan in Calcutta. She was named Shanti,
which means “Peace” in Hindi, in honor of Mother Teresa’s award.
The celebrations had just begun. Over the next few days, Mother
Teresa received more than 500 telegrams from heads of state all over the
114 MOTHER TERESA