Missionaries of Charity their families every five years but do not take annual holidays. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. The first home of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York. In the USA, the Missionaries of Charity are affiliated with the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, a body of female religious, representing 20% of American nuns. They are identified by the wearing of religious habits, and loyalty to church teaching. By 1996, the organisation was operating
Nirmala (sect) established with grants from the rulers of Phulkian states, has the highest status among all Nirmala chapters. Other major Nirmala centres are located at Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, Trimbak, Kurukshetra and Patna. Nirmala (sect) Nirmala (Punjabi: ਨਿਰਮਲੇ) is an Indian religious sect of ascetics who interpret the Sikh philosophy in Vedantic terms. They variously claim to have originated during the period of Guru Nanak (15th-16th century) or Guru Gobind Singh (17th century). The origin of the Nirmalas is uncertain: the sect is first mentioned in the Sikh literature towards the end of the 18th century. In the 19th century, some Nirmala