Mother Teresa's path to sainthood cleared
Pope Francis approves second miracle
Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II in Kolkata on Feb. 3, 1986. Pope
Francis has recognized a second miracle attributed to the late Mother
Teresa, clearing the path for her to be elevated to sainthood. (Photo by
Jean-Claude Delmas/AFP)
Pope Francis has approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, clearing her path to sainthood.
"It's a great blessing from God for the church and country as she was a true reflection of God's mercy and compassion to countless destitute people around the world," said Archbishop Anil J. Couto of Delhi.
Her canonization will bring hope and joy to everyone who dedicates oneself to the service of the poor, he added.
There was much joy at the motherhouse in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity congregation that Blessed Teresa founded.
"We are so happy with the news. All the sisters at the Missionaries of Charity are rejoicing and we are grateful to God," Sister Lynn Mascarenhas, vice postulator for the cause of Blessed Teresa, told ucanews.com.
According to a Vatican statement, Francis on Dec. 18 authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mother Teresa.
News reports said that Blessed Teresa's canonization is expected in September to coincide with the anniversary of her death. Her feast day is Sept 5, which falls on a Monday in 2016. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service in November that the canonization would not take place on a Monday.
The second miracle that cleared her path for sainthood was the recovery of a Brazilian man from multiple brain tumors.
Blessed Teresa was born in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia. She came to India in 1929 as a novice with the Loreto nuns. She left the congregation in the late 1940s and started the Missionaries of Charity in 1950.
Blessed Teresa died of cardiac arrest at the motherhouse on Sept. 5, 1997. Her canonization process began two years afterward. Pope John Paul II beatified her in October 2003.
Her tomb at the Missionaries of Charity's headquarters has become a pilgrimage center.
Throngs of visitors come to see the tomb throughout the year, except on Thursdays, when the nuns spend the day in prayer.
In 2005, retired Archbishop Henry D'Souza of Calcutta said Blessed Teresa "fell in love with God and in that love she spent her whole life." Love, he added, "is the greatest of all virtues."
According to the archbishop, who initiated Blessed Teresa's canonization cause, the late nun's initial letters from India to her relatives back home spoke of her difficulties in adjusting to the heat and conditions in this country.
However, she overcame the pain and sufferings after "she fell in love with Jesus," the archbishop said, citing a portion from one of those letters: "All these difficulties are easy for me as Jesus and I are in love with each other."
The Missionaries of Charity congregation has 5,044 nuns in 768 houses, 515 of them overseas and 243 in India.
"It's a great blessing from God for the church and country as she was a true reflection of God's mercy and compassion to countless destitute people around the world," said Archbishop Anil J. Couto of Delhi.
Her canonization will bring hope and joy to everyone who dedicates oneself to the service of the poor, he added.
There was much joy at the motherhouse in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity congregation that Blessed Teresa founded.
"We are so happy with the news. All the sisters at the Missionaries of Charity are rejoicing and we are grateful to God," Sister Lynn Mascarenhas, vice postulator for the cause of Blessed Teresa, told ucanews.com.
According to a Vatican statement, Francis on Dec. 18 authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to proclaim the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mother Teresa.
News reports said that Blessed Teresa's canonization is expected in September to coincide with the anniversary of her death. Her feast day is Sept 5, which falls on a Monday in 2016. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service in November that the canonization would not take place on a Monday.
The second miracle that cleared her path for sainthood was the recovery of a Brazilian man from multiple brain tumors.
Blessed Teresa was born in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia. She came to India in 1929 as a novice with the Loreto nuns. She left the congregation in the late 1940s and started the Missionaries of Charity in 1950.
Blessed Teresa died of cardiac arrest at the motherhouse on Sept. 5, 1997. Her canonization process began two years afterward. Pope John Paul II beatified her in October 2003.
Her tomb at the Missionaries of Charity's headquarters has become a pilgrimage center.
Throngs of visitors come to see the tomb throughout the year, except on Thursdays, when the nuns spend the day in prayer.
In 2005, retired Archbishop Henry D'Souza of Calcutta said Blessed Teresa "fell in love with God and in that love she spent her whole life." Love, he added, "is the greatest of all virtues."
According to the archbishop, who initiated Blessed Teresa's canonization cause, the late nun's initial letters from India to her relatives back home spoke of her difficulties in adjusting to the heat and conditions in this country.
However, she overcame the pain and sufferings after "she fell in love with Jesus," the archbishop said, citing a portion from one of those letters: "All these difficulties are easy for me as Jesus and I are in love with each other."
The Missionaries of Charity congregation has 5,044 nuns in 768 houses, 515 of them overseas and 243 in India.
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