Did mother theresa open an orphanage with hilary clinton
Executive summary
The short answer: yes — Hillary Clinton helped open a Washington, D.C. infant home associated with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in 1995, and Mother Teresa participated in its opening, but the partnership was more symbolic and facilitative than a formal joint founding by two equals [1] [2] [3]. Reporting shows Clinton recounting Mother Teresa’s persistence in pushing for an adoption center and documents the June 1995 opening of the “Mother Teresa Home for Infant Children” in Chevy Chase, D.C., though the house later closed and its adoption activities are disputed [4] [1] [3].
1. The encounter that started it: a public chastisement and a private ask
Mother Teresa delivered a widely noted anti‑abortion speech at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast that reportedly prompted a one‑on‑one exchange with Hillary Clinton in which the nun pressed the first lady to do more for infants and adoption, an episode Clinton later recalled and that multiple accounts describe as the catalyst for the Washington home [4] [5] [6].
2. What was opened in Washington in 1995 — name, date, participants
Contemporary and later reporting identifies a small infant home in northwest Washington called the Mother Teresa Home for Infant Children that opened in June 1995; Mother Teresa and Hillary Clinton were both present for the opening and Clinton publicly recounted being “dragged upstairs” by Mother Teresa to see bassinets and nurseries [1] [4] [7].
3. Who actually ran the place: Missionaries of Charity, not a Clinton‑Teresa company
The operational control of the Washington home is tied to Mother Teresa’s order, the Missionaries of Charity, and accounts frame Clinton’s role as political and logistical support — arranging local cooperation, publicity, and, by her own telling, doing the “legwork” — rather than as a co‑religious founder or long‑term manager [7] [8] [2].
4. Competing narratives: symbolic alliance vs. substantive program
Some outlets and commentators present the opening as a notable bipartisan or cross‑ideological gesture — Mother Teresa’s moral pressure and Clinton’s follow‑through created a symbolic “common ground” moment — while investigative accounts and later reporting stress that the house was small, short‑lived, and ultimately stopped handling adoptions, tempering claims of a durable programmatic partnership [4] [3].
5. What happened afterward: closure, legacy, and disputed impact
Sources report the D.C. home later closed and that its phone line and adoption services were discontinued, raising questions about how many adoptions it facilitated and how lasting the project was; some faith outlets emphasize the moral significance of the episode, others the limited operational footprint [3] [2].
6. Reading the relationship: politics, publicity, and genuine charity
The relationship between Mother Teresa and Hillary Clinton combined genuine personal interaction, political theater, and media framing: Mother Teresa’s international moral authority and Hillary Clinton’s political influence produced a high‑profile opening that served both charitable ends and political narratives — for Mother Teresa, a platform to press for adoption; for Clinton, a story of outreach and bipartisan compassion — but it stopped short of creating an enduring joint enterprise under their equal stewardship [4] [5] [2].
Limitations of the record
The sources assembled for this report provide consistent accounts of the 1994 exchange and the 1995 opening but differ on operational details and outcomes; none of the provided materials supplies primary incorporation documents, Missionaries of Charity administrative records, or a full audit of adoptions handled by the D.C. home, so precise claims about the home’s legal status and the exact extent of Clinton’s managerial or financial involvement cannot be fully verified here [3] [7].