Mother Teresa meets Pope John Paul II at Nirmal Hriday Home in Calcutta in 1986/AFP
VATICAN CITY, Holy See, Mar 15 – Mother Teresa will be cleared to become a saint on Tuesday after a Vatican panel recognises a second miracle attributed to the late nun famed for her work with the poor of Kolkata.
The committee of senior clerics that approves elevations to sainthood is due to meet from around 0900 GMT with the long-awaited green light seen as a formality, less than two decades after her death.
Pope Francis will then sign a decree approving the canonisation of the 1979 Nobel peace prize winner and announce a date and venue for it to happen.
The Albanian nun and missionary will be one of five candidates for sainthood considered at Tuesday’s session, but by far the most high-profile.
The canonisation is widely expected to take place on September 4, the eve of the anniversary of her 1997 death, for which a celebration of her memory had already been scheduled as part of the Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Indian Catholics had hoped Francis would travel to India for the canonisation ceremony but, barring a last minute surprise, it is expected to take place in Rome with a thanksgiving ceremony scheduled for the following month in the Indian city.
Known across the world, Teresa was awarded the Nobel for her work with the poor, sick, old and lonely in the teeming slums of Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta.
She is revered by many Catholics but has also been attacked as a “religious imperialist” who attempted to foist her beliefs on an impoverished community in which they had no indigenous roots.
About The Author
