Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity and spent 45 years serving the poor, the sick, the orphaned, and the dying on the streets of Kolkata. She died at the age of 87 in Kolkata in 1997.
The elevation of Mother Teresa to sainthood came after the Church recognised a second miracle earlier this year, the Missionaries of Charity said.
Mother Teresa was born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu of Albanian parents in Macedonia in 1910 in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire. After having lived in Macedonia for some 18 years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
“The first miracle was performed in Kolkata many years ago. The second one was performed in Brazil, where a person had been healed miraculously as a result of her earlier prayers,” a spokesperson of her charity told media earlier this year.
She was granted Indian citizenship in 1951 and received a state funeral after her death.
Indian Catholic community is planning a big celebration in Kolkata in September to mark the occasion where delegates from different parts of the country are likely to participate.
[1]Besides a religious programme which includes a Holy Mass, there will also be a civil programme where dignitaries will be present.
Mother Teresa, who will now be a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was beatified by then pope John Paul II in a fast-tracked process in 2003.
In 2002, the Vatican officially recognised a miracle she was said to have carried out after her death, namely the 1998 healing of a Bengali tribal woman, Monika Besra, who was suffering from an abdominal tumour. The traditional canonisation procedure requires at least two miracles.
“The first miracle was performed in Kolkata many years ago. The second one was performed in Brazil, where a person had been healed miraculously as a result of her earlier prayers,” a spokesperson of her charity told media earlier this year.