Women in the Catholic Church
Mother Teresa of Calcutta established the Missionaries of Charity in the slums of Calcutta in 1948 to work among "the poorest of the poor". Initially founding a school, she then gathered other sisters who "rescued new-born babies abandoned on rubbish heaps; they sought out the sick; they took in lepers, the unemployed, and the mentally ill". Teresa achieved fame in the 1960s and began to establish convents around the world. By the time of her death in 1997, the religious institute she founded had more than 450 centres in over 100 countries.
Maria Teresa Merlo
Maria Teresa Merlo (20 February 1894 - 5 February 1964) - in religious life "Tecla" - was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-founder of the Daughters of Saint Paul that she established alongside Blessed Giacomo Alberione. Merlo was an extensive writer and traveler as she penned articles for her order and made visits across the world to communities that were established in nations such as the United States of America and Australia.