Mother Teresa to be made a saint, Vatican announces

Mother Teresa is to be declared a saint on 4th September, Pope Francis has announced. The Nobel Peace Prize winning Roman Catholic nun, who worked with the poor in Kolkata, will be conferred with the great honour 19 years after her demise. At the time of her death, Mother Teresa was operating 517 missions in more than 100 countries, which were dedicated to serving the “poorest of the poor”.

Loved by millions worldwide, Mother Teresa achieved acclaim for her work in Kolkata’s slums. She is best known as the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which consists of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries.

The organization runs hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. The organization also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children’s and family counselling programmes, orphanages, and schools across the world.

The Church defines saints as those believed to have been holy enough during their lives to now be in heaven and can intercede with God to perform miracles. According to Wikipedia, there are 810 canonized saints till date.

Pope Francis, after recognising Mother Teresa’s second miracle, has said the ceremony will take place at the Vatican. Although it has dashed the hopes of many Indians who wished Pope to come to Kolkata and perform the ritual, the news of Mother Teresa’s sainthood has sent a wave of joy across the world.

“I am waiting to get there because it has been absolutely jubilant news and I can’t thank God enough that it is happening in my lifetime,” Sunita Kumar, spokesperson for the Missionaries of Charity, told Al Jazeera.

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